[Prenatal diagnosis of fetal cardiac disease with echocardiography. National Group for Fetal Echocardiography].

UNLABELLED: M-mode, 2DE and PDE were performed on 630 fetuses of high risk pregnancies. Fetal gestation ages ranged from 16 to 41 weeks. 21 cases of fetal heart disease were detected during pregnancy. The detected rate of fetal cardiac disease with echocardiography in high-risk pregnancies was 3.3%. In total 21 cases of fetal cardiac disease including 3 cases of atrial septal defect, 5 ventricular septal defect, 3 fetal non-immuno hydrops with pericardial effusion, 2 atrioventricular canal defect, 2 cardiac tumor (one rhabdomyoma, another lipoblastoma), an endocardial fibroelastosis, pulmonary stenosis, a single atrium with single ventricle, a hypoplastic left ventricle with single atrium and pulmonary atresia, a hypoplastic right ventricle with pulmonary atresia and a truncus arteriosus were found. 19 cases of fetal cardiac disease were confirmed at autopsy and other two by auscultation and echocardiography after delivery. The significant high-risk factors were bradycardia in 6 cases, non-immuno hydrops in 5 cases and virus infection at early pregnancy in 3 cases.

CONCLUSION

(1) 2DE and PDE are the most valuable non-invasive technique for detection of fetal structural cardiac abnormalities. (2) Sustained bradycardia, non-immuno hydrops and virus infection at early pregnancy were the significant high-risk factors of fetal heart disease. Fetal non-immuno hydrops may present congestive cardiac failure in the uterus.