title: Accuracy of prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart defects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  (1) To evaluate the detection and accuracy of fetal echocardiography for congenital heart defects (CHD). (2) To compare the detection and accuracy of a team of maternal fetal medicine specialists and radiologists (MFM/R) with those of perinatal cardiologists (PC).
  
  
  METHODS
  All fetal echocardiograms performed from 1/91 to 6/95 were reviewed retrospectively. CHD diagnoses made prenatally were compared with postnatally-confirmed diagnoses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  106 heat defects were correctly detected prenatally. There were 10 incorrect diagnoses, 6 false-negatives and 4 false-positives. Overall detection rate (sensitivity) was 95%, while overall accuracy was 87%. Detection rate for MFM/R and PC were 91 and 97%, respectively (p = 0.4). Accuracy was 74% for MFM/R and 92% for PC (p = 0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CHD can be identified reliably by prenatal echocardiography. The involvement of a PC in the prenatal diagnosis of these defects may improve diagnostic accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa, USA. vincenzo.berghella@mail.tju.edu
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Berghella
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pagotto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Huhta
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wapner
mesh_terms: D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal