OBJECTIVE: We describe the National Registry for Fetal Cardiac Pathology, a program under the Polish Ministry of Health aimed at improving the prenatal diagnosis, care, and management of congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: An online database was created to prospectively record diagnosis, prenatal care, delivery, follow-up, and still images and video for fetuses with CHD. A certification program in fetal cardiac ultrasound was also implemented. Optimal screening and referral centers were identified by number of fetuses entered in the Registry yearly by each center. RESULTS: From 2004 to 2009, 2910 fetuses with CHD were registered (2473 structural, 437 functional anomalies). The most common reasons for referral for fetal echocardiography were abnormal four-chamber view (56.0%) and extra-cardiac anomalies (8.2% ), while the most common diagnoses were atrioventricular septal defects (10.2%) and hypoplastic left heart syndrome (9.7%). Prenatal diagnosis increased yearly, from 10.0% of neonatal diagnoses in 2003 to 38.0% in 2008. CONCLUSION: From inception of the registry up to 2009 there has been a fourfold increase in the number of neonates referred for cardiac surgery in whom the condition was prenatally diagnosed. Equally important achievements include the establishment of a certification program for fetal echocardiography and the organization of prenatal and neonatal management.
OBJECTIVE: We describe the National Registry for Fetal Cardiac Pathology, a program under the Polish Ministry of Health aimed at improving the prenatal diagnosis, care, and management of congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: An online database was created to prospectively record diagnosis, prenatal care, delivery, follow-up, and still images and video for fetuses with CHD. A certification program in fetal cardiac ultrasound was also implemented. Optimal screening and referral centers were identified by number of fetuses entered in the Registry yearly by each center. RESULTS: From 2004 to 2009, 2910 fetuses with CHD were registered (2473 structural, 437 functional anomalies). The most common reasons for referral for fetal echocardiography were abnormal four-chamber view (56.0%) and extra-cardiac anomalies (8.2% ), while the most common diagnoses were atrioventricular septal defects (10.2%) and hypoplastic left heart syndrome (9.7%). Prenatal diagnosis increased yearly, from 10.0% of neonatal diagnoses in 2003 to 38.0% in 2008. CONCLUSION: From inception of the registry up to 2009 there has been a fourfold increase in the number of neonates referred for cardiac surgery in whom the condition was prenatally diagnosed. Equally important achievements include the establishment of a certification program for fetal echocardiography and the organization of prenatal and neonatal management.
Authors: Maciej Słodki; Katarzyna Zych-Krekora; Roland Axt-Fliedner; Ana Bianchi; Edward Araujo Junior; Isaac Blickstein; Sefa Kelekci; Lami Yeo; Jay D Pruetz; Giuseppe Rizzo; Neil Seligman; Mark Sklansky; Luc de Catte; Stuart Weiner; Frank Chervenak; Jader Cruz; Andrii Kurkevych; Michał Krekora; Maria Respondek-Liberska Journal: J Ultrason Date: 2016-03-29