Perinatal outcomes of pregnancies with prenatally diagnosed foetal congenital heart disease

Abstract

We aimed to assess the types of prenatally diagnosed congenital heart disease (CHD) and their association with structural and chromosomal abnormalities and to evaluate the perinatal outcomes according to the type of the heart defect. We retrospectively reviewed 377 pregnancies with prenatally diagnosed CHD. The main outcome measure was to evaluate the pregnancy outcomes of CHD according to the type of the heart defect and associated structural or chromosomal abnormalities. Of 377 foetuses with major structural CHD, 214 (56.8%) were isolated, 49 (13%) had additional cardiac anomalies, 58 (15.4%) had extracardiac malformations with normal karyotype and 56 (14.9%) had chromosomal abnormalities. The most common chromosomal abnormality was trisomy 21 (55.4%). Prenatal detection of CHD allows early workup to identify chromosomal abnormalities and detailed anatomic evaluation of extracardiac malformations. Prognostication of each heart defect at diagnosis and facilitating patients with isolated surgically correctable CHD for targeted postnatal care is essential.

IMPACT STATEMENT

• What is already known on this subject? CHD is the most common structural anomaly and is strongly associated with chromosomal anomalies and genetic syndromes.

• What do the results of this study add? Survival of the prenatally diagnosed CHD depends on the type and severity of the condition and coexisting extracardiac structural or chromosomal abnormalities.

• What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Prenatal detection of CHD allows early workup to identify chromosomal abnormalities, detailed anatomic evaluation of extracardiac malformations and time to refer the parents to tertiary cardiac care centres and prepare for planned delivery, as well as to establish an appropriate perinatal and postnatal therapeutic plan.

Keywords:

• Congenital heart disease
• prenatal diagnosis
• perinatal outcomes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).