Fetal echocardiography and its evolving impact 1992 to 2002.

Overview

The change in frequency over a 10-year time span of establishing a prenatal cardiac diagnosis was studied in infants requiring cardiac surgery in the newborn period. The frequency of prenatal diagnosis increased from 8% to 57%, resulting in earlier postnatal diagnosis and a shift toward delivery in a tertiary care center; the most commonly prenatally diagnosed lesions were either ductal dependent or single ventricular in nature.