The Occurrence of Inborn Heart Defects and their Prenatal Detection in the Moravian-Silesian Region

Overview

Objective:
The authors present the results of prenatal screening of inborn heart defects (IHD) at their workplace and evaluate a general occurrence of the inborn heart defects in the Moravian-Silesian (MS) region and the successfulness of their prenatal detection.

Methods:
Fetal echocardiography as a screening examination has been in operation at the Children Cardiology Workplace of the Children Ward of the Municipal Hospital in Ostrava-Fifejdy (DK MNO) since 1991 and a total of 21,968 pregnant women have been examined there until the end of 2005. More than 2,500 foetal echocardiography examinations have been performed here annually. A detailed statistical survey of the detection of IHD and their general occurrence in the MS region has been maintained at the author’s workplace since 1999.

Results:
In the years 1999–2005, a total of 256 prenatally recognised and/or postnatally significant (operated on until one year of age of the child) IHD cases. Prenatal diagnosis recealed 92 patological cases (25.9%) and 164 significant IHD cases escaped to diagnosis (64.1%). At the workplace of DK MNO, 78 foetuses with IHD were examined prenatally (43 as primary detection and 35 as suspected cases or diagnosis already established at other workplaces).

Conclusions:
There is a gradual improvement of the system of care in the region, the accessibility to the examination and subsequent detailed examination of the foetus, planning the site of delivery of the pathological newborn, the access to possible ending of pregnancy, post mortem examinations and a general evaluation of the IHDs in the region. The results of the individual years have shown a gradual improvement of the prenatal screening of IHD in the given region. More than a half of the significant IHDs were recognized before delivery and a gradually improving trend of this planned examination in the Moravian-Silesian region has been documented.

Key words:
inborn heart defect, screening, foetal echocardiography