Why the study?
Although prenatal ultrasound screening has been widely implemented for congenital heart disease (CHD), the prevalence and detection patterns of combined prenatal and postnatal screening needed to be described.
Population
21,920 fetuses or neonates (including 548 twin pregnancies) from pregnant women with complete follow-up data
Design
Retrospective cohort study
Follow-up
42-day postnatal visit
Key result
A combined screening strategy identified a CHD prevalence of 14.5 per 1000 births, with prenatal screening detecting 89.6% of complex cases and postnatal screening detecting 68.1% of simple cases.
Authors
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CHD screening patterns characterized in single-center cohort; leaves open optimal detection strategies pending multicenter validation.
Cohort (n=21,920)
No
Prenatal screening is highly effective for detecting complex congenital heart disease (89.6%), while sequential newborn screening is crucial for identifying simple congenital heart disease (68.1%).
Cao et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Congenital heart disease (n=21,920). Prenatal and postnatal screening for CHD was evaluated on Prevalence and detection patterns of CHD. A combined screening strategy identified a CHD prevalence of 14.5 per 1000 births, with prenatal screening detecting 89.6% of complex cases and postnatal screening detecting 68.1% of simple cases.