[Antenatal screening for congenital heart disease: a retrospective analysis of 20 years of experience]. / Dépistage anténatal des cardiopathies foetales: une étude rétrospective sur 20 ans.

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease is often severe and outcome remains uncertain. In some cases, early intervention at birth can improve the prognosis. Prenatal detection of congenital heart disease by ultrasound may improve outcome for foetuses with congenital heart disease but today, results are not convincing. The purpose of this review was to describe the detection of congenital heart disease in a non selected population. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate the prenatal detection of congenital heart disease in our department from 1984 to 2003. RESULTS: Incidence of congenital heart disease was 4.9. Sensitivity of detection was 60%, specificity was 99.9%. Most cases were severe heart diseases. In 57 fetuses (40%), congenital heart disease was not detected. Thirty-seven fetuses (65%) presented minor disease; in 20 fetuses (35%), congenital heart disease was found to be severe. Effectiveness of detection of major congenital heart diseases has increased since 2000. CONCLUSION: Large-scale fetal heart screening is necessary for early detection of congenital heart disease and improved outcome.