SCREENING FOR CONGENITAL HEART-DISEASE WITH THE 4-CHAMBER VIEW OF THE FETAL HEART

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine the efficacy of the four-chamber view of the fetal heart in routine ultrasonographic examination as a screening tool for congenital heart defects. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cohort study compared the detection rate of congenital heart defects among 5336 pregnant women screened with the ultrasonographic four-chamber view of the fetal heart from 1987 through 1989 with that among 3680 patients examined ultrasonographically without the four-chamber view during the 2 preceding years (1985 through 1986). All patients were followed until delivery or termination of pregnancy, and clinical or autopsy confirmation of prenatal findings were obtained on all cases. RESULTS: The overall incidence of congenital heart diseases was 5.2 per 1000 (47/9016). During the years 1985 through 1986 15 neonates with congenital heart diseases were identified, seven of which were prenatally diagnosed (sensitivity 43%). During the period 1987 through 1989 a four-chamber view of the fetal heart was obtained in 95% of cases; 32 cases of congenital heart disease occurred, 26 of which were diagnosed antenatally (sensitivity 81%, p = 0.01). Two false-positive diagnoses were made during the second time period, giving a specificity of 99.9%. CONCLUSION: The four-chamber view of the fetal heart is easily obtained, does not significantly increase the duration of a routine ultrasonographic examination, and has an excellent sensitivity for the identification of congenital heart diseases.