[Efficacy of ultrasound screening in pregnancy].
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of ultrasound screening in pregnancy.


METHODS
Therefore, it was registered whether fetal malformations in a study population of 11,172 deliveries were already diagnosed before birth.


RESULTS
341 defects were found in 297 children from mothers who had had prenatal care. Most anomalies were seen in the urogenital tract (n = 98; 28.7%), the heart (n = 67; 19.6%), the connective tissue (n = 39; 11.4%), the gastrointestinal tract (n = 32; 9.4%), and in the central nervous system (n = 33; 9.7%). Chromosomal anomalies (n = 22; 6.5%) and orofacial defects (n = 21; 6.2%) were more rare. 8.8% of all defects were lethal, 37% severe. 237 (69.5%) were classified as "diagnosable by ultrasound prenatally". 125 of them (53%) were identified prenatally, with high rates of 71% in central nervous system, 65.5% in intestinal and 54% in urogenital tract, while the detection rate was only 13.6% in chromosomal and 3.3% in cardiac defects. Only 14.3% were found before 24 weeks of gestation.


CONCLUSIONS
Thus, the effectiveness of ultrasound screening has to be improved by adequate measures.
Frauenklinik Kreiskrankenhaus Rendsburg.
O
O
Behrens
C
C
Steiner
S
S
Böhmer
K
K
Mühlhaus
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000145:classification / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000002:abnormalities*; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
Qualität des Ultraschall-Screenings in der Schwangerenvorsorge.