![]() Ĭongenital heart diseases are considered challenging cases as they require multidisciplinary management approach by integrated efforts between the sonographer, obstetrician, and the neonatologists therefore, early diagnosis could further enhance and improve clinical outcomes by permitting establishment of suitable and safe circumstances during delivery. However recently, there is a growing research interest to develop an earlier approach to diagnose major structural cardiac anomalies at earlier gestations within the first trimester that is aided by the upgrading in the frequency of sonographic waves produced from abdominal and vaginal probes and other image enhancing features integrated to display the fetal structures in a detailed manner as early as 8 gestational weeks. Conclusionsįirst trimester fetal echo is an outstanding enhancement in management pathways of cases susceptible to have fetal cardiac abnormalities permitting early detection of structural cardiac anomalies triggering a cascade of scanning for extra cardiac anomalies to aid in evaluation and assessment of the best management course for those affected cases.įetal echocardiographic scanning has shown recent great advances in which it was routinely practiced from 20 to 24 gestational weeks to determine the presence of congenital heart diseases. Resultsįour chamber view was mostly visualized from 12 gestational weeks, whereas cardiac axis was fully visualized in all cases from 12 gestational weeks on the other hand, IVC assessment by 2D was satisfactorily visualized in 78.26% of cases and by color Doppler in 82.61% of cases at 13 gestational weeks, pulmonary veins were visualized in 21.74% of cases by 2D and 43.5% of cases by color Doppler at 13 gestational weeks, and interestingly, ventricular inflows were satisfactorily visualized in almost all cases from 10th gestational weeks. The research study was conducted at cardiology department fetal unit in one of the tertiary hospitals. Cases were fully assessed by fetal echocardiographic examination from 10th gestational week to 13 gestational weeks in a sequential manner weekly. A prospective clinical trial conducted on 150 study subjects, 44 of them were twin gestations. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the capability to visualize fetal cardiac structures within the first trimester as early as 10th gestational weeks and to elucidate the value of using color Doppler in visualization of cardiac structures within early gestation. ![]() The effectiveness of early first trimester fetal echocardiography has not been adequately investigated, especially with modern sonographic technological advances. Fetal cardiac activity could be observed between 6th and 7th gestational weeks, early performance of fetal echocardiography could be implemented to screen for fetal heart disease. ![]()
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