title: Prenatal screening for cardiac anomalies: the value of routine addition of the aortic root to the four-chamber view.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the addition of the aortic-root view would detect more congenital cardiac anomalies than a standard four-chamber view alone.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included fetuses of 14 weeks' gestation or more who were scanned in our unit during a 28-month period. Outcome information was obtained from postnatal echocardiograms and autopsies. Abnormal hearts were classified as to whether the four-chamber or aortic-root view was abnormal.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 5967 fetuses in whom a four-chamber view could be obtained. In 5111 of these, an aortic-root view could also be obtained. The four-chamber view detected 24 (47%) of the 51 fetuses with abnormal hearts. Adding the aortic-root view increased the sensitivity to 78%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Visualization of the aortic root is a quick and easy means of evaluating the aortic outflow tract during routine scanning. Adding the aortic-root view to the standard four-chamber view will result in the detection of most cardiac anomalies prenatally.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kirk
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Riggs
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Comstock
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weinhouse
mesh_terms: D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D005318:Fetal Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal