THE SUCCESS RATE OF INTRAUTERINE CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE DETECTION AT DEPARTMENT OF GYNECOLOGY AND OBSTETRICS, SVETI DUH UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL FROM ZAGREB, 2016-2020.

Abstract

The aim was to assess the frequency and success rate of prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart diseases (CHDs) in live-born neonates using ultrasound, as well as the occurrence of different types of CHD in the tertiary medical care institution in the period from January 1, 2016 till December 31, 2020. In this retrospective study, data were collected by reviewing medical history of both mothers and newborns. During the study period, there were 13,932 childbirths, and 42 newborns were diagnosed with CHD. Excluding the diagnoses of persistent duct of Botallo (n=4) and CHDs arising as a consequence of maternal condition (n=2), out of 36 newborns, 31 (86%) were diagnosed prenatally and 5 (14%) postnatally. The prevalence of CHDs was 30 per 10,000 births (3.0‰). In conclusion, the rate of prenatal diagnosis of CHDs was very high. The prevalence of CHDs was substantially lower than the European average published in the EUROCAT study for the 2016-2019 period. Additional education and examination algorithms need to be implemented to achieve more successful rates of prenatally diagnosed CHDs recorded in the best centers across Europe and the world.