The utility of fetal echocardiography after an unremarkable anatomy scan

To estimate whether fetal echocardiography detects major cardiac anomalies after normal anatomy ultrasound scan in patients at increased risk for having a fetus with congenital heart disease.

A computerized database was used to identify patients who underwent fetal echocardiography at the New York University Division of Pediatric Cardiology after anatomy ultrasound scan at the New York University Obstetrics and Gynecology Ultrasound Unit. Only patients with normal anatomy ultrasound scan results were included in the primary analysis. Patients were excluded if they had suspicious cardiac views on anatomy ultrasound scan or extracardiac anomalies. Major cardiac anomalies were defined as those judged by a blinded pediatric cardiologist as likely to require medical or surgical intervention in the first 6 months of life.

Of 1,034 patients in the pediatric cardiology database, 536 patients underwent anatomy ultrasound scan at the New York University Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. Eighty patients in the case group were excluded for suspicious or inadequate cardiac views and 139 were excluded for extracardiac ultrasound findings. Of the remaining 317 patients with normal obstetric ultrasound scan results, none had a major cardiac malformation diagnosed on fetal echocardiography.

In a tertiary care center with operators performing a high volume of ultrasound screenings, fetal echocardiography after normal anatomy ultrasound scan may be of limited benefit.

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