Prenatal diagnosis of 22q11 deletions: a series of five cases with congenital heart defects.

We report a series of five patients with congenital heart defects in whom a prenatal diagnosis of 22q11 deletion has been made. The accurate cardiac and cytogenetic diagnoses were made between 20 and 23 weeks' gestation in all cases and the cardiac findings were all confirmed postnatally. The cardiac abnormalities included tetralogy of Fallot with absent pulmonary valve, pulmonary atresia with VSD, common arterial trunk, and left atrial isomerism with double outlet right ventricle. The problems of genetic counselling in these cases are discussed. A recommendation is made to test all fetuses with conotruncal heart abnormalities detected prenatally for a 22q11 deletion, whereas guidelines for other congenital heart disease types are less clear.