Fetal echocardiographic screening using the four-chamber view detected congenital heart disease with 92% sensitivity and 99.7% specificity.
Cross-Sectional (n=1,022)
Does fetal echocardiographic screening using the four-chamber view accurately detect congenital heart disease in fetuses?
The four-chamber view is a highly sensitive and specific screening tool for detecting congenital heart disease and should be included in routine obstetric ultrasounds.
Effect estimate: 92% sensitivity, 99.7% specificity
The four-chamber view of the heart has been proposed as a screening method for obstetrical sonographers to assess the fetus for the presence of congenital heart disease. We examined the fetuses in 1022 pregnancies and found 74 structurally abnormal hearts. Seventy-one of these (96%) were found to have an abnormality as seen in the four-chamber view. The four-chamber view of the heart had 92% sensitivity and 99.7% specificity in the detection of congenital heart disease. The positive predictive value was 95.8%, and the negative predictive value was 99.4%. We conclude that the four-chamber view may be a useful screen for the presence of congenital heart disease and should be included as a part of all routine obstetric ultrasound examinations.
Copel et al. (1987) conducted a cross-sectional in Congenital heart disease (n=1,022). Four-chamber view fetal echocardiography was evaluated on Detection of congenital heart disease (92% sensitivity, 99.7% specificity). Fetal echocardiographic screening using the four-chamber view detected congenital heart disease with 92% sensitivity and 99.7% specificity.