Foetal echocardiography: tool to predict the future of patients with congenital heart defects?

Antepartum obstetrical ultrasonic evaluation is nowadays commonly used in order to detect congenital anomalies.1,2 As congenital heart disease is the most frequently encountered congenital anomaly, cardiac examination is of paramount importance to identify defects on time. The advantage of foetal echocardiography is that ultrasound energy can be applied safely in an evolving fetus and that cardiac structures can be studied early in pregnancy (from 10 to 12 weeks by the vaginal approach, and from 16 to 18 weeks using the transabdominal approach). Failures to diagnose congenital heart defects correctly are caused by multiple variables including ultrasound technology, sonographer experience, and mother- or foetal-related factors such as gestational age, foetal intrauterine position, or polyhydramnios. As congenital heart malformations are often associated with other cardiovascular and/or extracardiac malformations, extensive ultrasonic evaluation of the fetus is mandatory in case of a congenital heart defect. In their … *Corresponding author. Tel: +31 71 5262020, Fax: +31 71 5226567, Email: n.m.s.de_groot{at}LUMC.NL or M.J.Schalij{at}LUMC.NL