The Value of Fetal Echocardiography for Early Detection of Congenital Heart Defects: A Report of our Experience in a Great Referral Heart Center in Iran

Hakimeh Sadeghian; Afsaneh Sadeghian; Farbod Semnani; Mehrdad Sheikhvatan; Seyed Abdolhossein Tabatabaie*

Hakimeh Sadeghian, Afsaneh Sadeghian, Farbod Semnani, Mehrdad Sheikhvatan, and Seyed Abdolhossein Tabatabaie*

Volume4-Issue12
Dates: Received: 2023-11-21 | Accepted: 2023-12-09 | Published: 2023-12-12
Pages: 1652-1656

Abstract

Background: Prenatal diagnosis of cardiac defects in fetus is of paramount importance to enable a better monitoring of heart defects and to allow planning a proper management. We reported our experience on fetal heart echocardiography in a great referral heart center in Iran with the approach to assessment of the diagnostic value of this tool for detecting Congenital Heart Diseases (CHDs).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 234 pregnant women attended at a great referral heart center in Tehran, Iran between 2012 and 2016 for heart abnormalities screening. All women were evaluated by trans-abdominal fetal echocardiography from 12 weeks of gestation to term and after birth.

Results: Fetal echocardiography showed different types of CHDs in 5.9%. CHDs detected in 9.9% of neonates by echocardiography after birth. The most common heart abnormalities detected was VSD in 4.3%. Considering echocardiography findings after birth as the reference, fetal echocardiography had a sensitivity of 92.8%, a specificity of 66.6%, a positive predictive value of 59.8%, a negative predictive value of 86.6%, and an accuracy of 84.1% for detection of heart defects.

Conclusion: Fetal heart echocardiography is a sensitive tool for detection of CHDs, but its specificity is moderate.

FullText HTML FullText PDF DOI: 10.37871/jbres1845

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How to cite this article

Sadeghian H, Sadeghian A, Semnani F, Sheikhvatan M, Tabatabaie SA. The Value of Fetal Echocardiography for Early Detection of Congenital Heart Defects: A Report of our Experience in a Great Referral Heart Center in Iran. J Biomed Res Environ Sci. 2023 Dec 12; 4(12): 1652-1656. doi: 10.37871/jbres1845, Article ID: JBRES1845, Available at: https://www.jelsciences.com/articles/ jbres1845.pdf

Subject area(s)

Clinical Cardiology

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