Ultrasound Screening for Fetal Anomalies in Developing Countries: Wish or Reality?

The main problems related to the screening of fetal anomalies in developing countries do include general ones of limited resources for health care and specific ones related to ultrasonographic practice, education, and instrumentation. The strategy to improve the detection of fetal anomalies is reliable, but has to be targeted to the following cornerstones: maintenance of obligate minimum of quality in perinatal care, establishment of three ultrasonographic examinations as a basic prerequisite of antenatal care, enhanced importance of first trimester screening, and a uniform program of education of sonographers, emphasizing the standardization of basic examination. Because of limited resources for perinatal care, we have to be highly responsible in selection of echographic instrumentation and appropriate education, subject to rigorous cost-benefit analysis.