THE EXPERIENCE OF
DIAGNOSIS THE ABNORMAL FETAL HEART BY FETAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY TO 900 FETUSES
Pan W, Wu GP, Li YF, Qian MY, Wang HS, Li H, Zeng SY
Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangzhou, China
Objective: To explore the methods and clinical value
of Fetal Echocardiography to diagnose the abnormal fetal heart such as
congenital heart disease and fetal cardiac arrhythmias.
Methods: From Nov. 1989 to Nov. 2000, 900 fetuses of
high-risk mothers were offered careful examination to the heart .At a
median age of 27.8 years (with a range of 22-39 years) the examination were
performed, and a median fetal gestational age was 33.4 weeks (a range of
20-49 weeks). We performed Two-dimensional of fetus first and took
four-charmber as the basic view, and got five-chamber、short and axis/great
vessel、left and right ventricular outflow tract/long axis、and aortic and ductal
arch et al. If arrhythmia or suspect effusion we performed M-mode or
doppler and if abnomal anatomy or physiology we performed color doppler.
Results: In this high-risk group ,there are 74 cases
abnormal fetal heart and the incidence is 8.24%（74/900）, the incidence of
congenital heart disease is 4.11%(37/900) and the incidence of fetal
cardiac arrhythmias is 3.2%(29/900), the others heart abnormalities is 0.88%(8/900).Fetal
Echocardiography diagnostic sensitivity is 92%, specificity is 95%, PV(+)
is 91% and PV(-) is 96%.
Conclusion: As a harmless examination approach,
fetal echocardiography can diagnose abnormal fetal heart exactly, so it is
a very useful technique in the evaluation of the fetal cardiovascular
system. It plays an important role in decreasing the born rate of complex
abnormal heart disease and improving the health level of population in
China.