Foetal echocardiography

Abstract

A modern diagnostic and therapeutical approach to paediatric cardiology enables early application of foetal echocardiography in order of achieving diagnosis of congenital heart anomalies in utero. The aim of this study is to evaluate the precentage of prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart anomalies. This study has been conducted on 73 patients at Paediatric clinic of Clinical Centre of Sarajevo in a period from January 2000 until December 2004 with diagnosis of heart malformations. Among them 14 were preterm newborns, 40 boys. Diagnosis of cardiac anomalies with left to right shunt was done in 56.1%, obstructive 13.7%, cyanotic 1.36% and complex in 28.7% patients. The prenatal diagnosis was esatablished in 4 patients (5.5%) by ultrasound examination which is very low in comparison to other European countries. There is a need for making prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart anomalies in foetus as early as it can be done in order to treat cardiac anomalies in utero, to decraease the number of congenital heart anomalies and to reduce the cost of cardiosurgical and postsurgical treatment.

Keywords

• foetal
• echocardiography