Prenatal screening for cardiac anomalies: the value of routine addition of the aortic root to the four-chamber view.
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.
Kirk
J S
JS
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan.
Riggs
T W
TW
Comstock
C H
CH
Lee
W
W
Yang
S S
SS
Weinhouse
E
E
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