title: [Diagnostic problems in fetal echocardiographic examination. Observations on a lot of study during 2005-2010].
abstract: Echocardiography is the key diagnostic method in the diagnostics of structural heart pathologies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To underline some possible situations that may cause errors in ultrasound examination of the fetal heart.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined a number of 39,370 fetuses along a period of six years. The ultrasound scan was performed according with international standards of basic and extended cardiac scan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  442 of them (1.12%) were diagnosed with cardiac malformations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ultrasound examination errors can cause false positive, false negative or incomplete diagnosis. Limitations in fetal echocardiography are related to the examiner experience to do an accurate diagnosis. The difficulty of assessing complex congenital heart lesion is increased. The unsatisfactory study should be repeated and sometimes the exact diagnosis requires sequential procedures. The aim is to define fetal heart anatomy and adise the family, in collaboration with neonatologist. The final results ia an optimal behavior for the fetus and newborn.
authors.affiliation: Universitătii de Medicină şi Farmacie Gr. T. Popa Iaşi, Facultatea de Medicină.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Titianu
authors.forename: Carmina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schaas
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onofriescu
authors.forename: Gh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Costăchescu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods