[Screening for fetal heart defects in the four chamber view with evaluation of larger arteries: possibilities and limits].

The four-chamber view and the visualization of the root of the left and right ventricular outflow tracts has been proposed as a screening method for the detection of congenital heart disease in the fetus. In order to study the diagnostical value of the method we investigated 1600 fetuses between the 17th and 40th gestational week without anamnestic risk for congenital heart disease with this screening method in a two years' period. We found 33 fetuses to have an abnormality either in the four-chamber view or in the ventricular outflow tracts. The sensitivity of the method in the detection of congenital heart disease was found to be 81%, the specificity 99% and the positive predictive value 88%. Women at high risk for congenital heart disease in the fetus should still undergo a more detailed echocardiographic examination to maximize the sensitivity in the detection of structural heart defects. Nevertheless, the described screening procedure is an effective and feasible method to detect fetuses with severe congenital heart disease, whose prognosis may be improved by the delivery in a perinatological center.