High accuracy of fetal echocardiography in the prenatal diagnosis of complex congenital heart diseases

In order to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of fetal echocardiography in the diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD), we designed a perspective study in which results of echocardiographic examinations performed in the prenatal period have been compared to those obtained in the neonatal period. Since January '92 we have enrolled 34 consecutive patients referred to our institution because of suspected CHD at first level obstetric ultrasound examination. In 33 out of 34 patients the presence of CHD has been confirmed by fetal echocardiographic study. In 1 patient no abnormality was found. All the prenatal diagnosis of normality (1 case) and abnormality (33 cases) were confirmed after delivery. In 31 out of 33 abnormal cases (94%) the prenatal diagnosis was found to be completely correct; in 2 cases (6%) it was not. This study demonstrates the high accuracy of fetal echocardiography in the prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease.