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Pregnant women with risk factors for fetal congenital heart defects (CHDs) — such as family histories of CHDs, maternal diabetes, and extracardiac malformations noted on screening ultrasound — are often referred for fetal echocardiography. But whether screening for CHDs with fetal echocardiography after an unremarkable second-trimester anatomy ultrasound is useful remains unknown. Investigators explored the detection rate for major and minor fetal CHDs among 536 women who underwent survey ultrasounds and fetal echocardiography at a single U.S. medical center.
The most common indications for fetal echocardiography were maternal diabetes and family history of CHD. Of the 317 women who had had normal anatomy ultrasound scans, none had major CHD…