+1 (629)348-3199Special Issue Article - Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology (2021) Volume 5, Issue 0
How to simplify the complete fetal echocardiogram to improve the detection rate of congenital heart diseases
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect, with an incidence of 6 to 8 per 1000 in all live births (1). Major CHD is a kind of cardiac abnormalities which will have a significant effect on the life of a child (2), and most of them require a surgical procedure in their early life (3). Prenatal diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease improves newborn preoperative survival. Newborns with a postnatal diagnosis are more likely to die of cardiovascular compromise prior to planned cardiac surgery than are those with a prenatal diagnosis. The implications of an improvement in overall newborn survival following prenatal diagnosis could be far-reaching; they support expanded efforts to improve prenatal screening for congenital heart disease during routine obstetric examination, changes in sonographer training, updated recommendations for ultrasound examinations and improved access to fetal echocardiograms. Each of these involves significant time and resources and changes in practice for providers who care for women during pregnancy (4). Diagnostic rates for CHD prior to delivery are suboptimal and influenced by socioeconomic factors. The effect is more notable when advanced views are required to make the diagnosis (4). Complete fetal echocardiogram in a simple way can help improving the detection rate of congenital heart diseases and increased the newborns and children survival.
Author(s): Cristiane Zill