Poor sensitivity of routine fetal anomaly ultrasound screening for antenatal detection of atrioventricular septal defect.
OBJECTIVE
To report the antenatal detection rate in a consecutive series of liveborn infants with atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD).


METHODS
Review and analysis of referrals for detailed fetal echocardiography and postnatal diagnosis of AVSD.


METHODS
Tertiary referral centre for congenital heart disease centre with data prospectively collected between 1996 to 2001.


RESULTS
92 consecutively liveborn infants with AVSDs were identified of which 27 (29%) were detected by routine obstetric antenatal ultrasound. The antenatal diagnosis rate was worse for liveborn infants with trisomy 21 (12 of 49 (25%) v 15 of 43 (35%) chromosomally normal children) and for infants with AVSD without other structural heart disease (18 of 74 (24%) v 9 of 18 (50%) infants with associated structural heart disease).


CONCLUSIONS
Despite the potential ability of fetal ultrasound to detect AVSDs, the antenatal diagnosis rate is poor. This is particularly true for infants with trisomy 21 and is of importance when counselling parents with an apparently normal fetal ultrasound scan.
ter Heide
H
H
Department of Paediatric Cardiology, E Floor, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, UK.
Thomson
J D R
JD
Wharton
G A
GA
Gibbs
J L
JL
D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006343:Heart Septal Defects / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000592:standards*