Comment on "Outcomes of critical congenital heart disease requiring emergent neonatal cardiac intervention": a new classification of congenital heart disease

The use of cardiac ultrasound imaging in first-trimester prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart diseases

This study aims to explore ultrasound (US) cardiac and echocardiographic features that may enable the early diagnosis of various major congenital heart diseases (CHDs). Focusing on providing useful US tools for this assessment, high resolution of US cardiac images of various CHDs, such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome, conotruncal anomalies, and univentricular heart, were evaluated. Results show that early US detection of most major CHDs is feasible during first-trimester ultrasonography cardiac evaluation. Concerns about safety issues, findings on early fetal cardiovascular hemodynamics, and cardiac lesions that can progress during the course of pregnancy were also discussed.

Selected data from the Polish National Prenatal Cardiac Pathology Registry from the year 2016

Introduction: Analysis have been subjected to evaluate standard data reports from the Polish National Prenatal Cardiac Pathology Registry from the year 2016, compared to previous years. Material and methods: The methodology of this work was comparison of the data from previous years that have been published in the Prenatal Cardiology and records generated in www. orpkp.pl from the year 2016. The total number of records entered in the Registry in the year 2016 was n=774. Results: Top 10 most common prenatal CHD in 2016 were such as follow: HLHS, AVSD, VSD, d-TGA, TOF, AvS, muscular VSD, Aberrant origin R subclavian artery, RAA, CoA. In the centers Lodz and Krakow the most common prenatal congenital heart defects were severe CHD requiring surgery in 1 st month of life. In the contrast, in Warsaw the first place was taken by a “critical heart defects” regardless whether cardiac surgery was planned in first week (contemporary definition of prenatal critical heart defects) or first month - contemporary definition of severe planned heart defects of postnatal life. Conclusion: The fact that in 2016 most common cause of referrals to targeted the fetal chocardiography was abnormal, large vessels view and not the abnormal 4 chamber view of the heart, suggests more and better training of hysicians performing the screening or basic study of fetal heart in Poland.

Fetal cardiology: changing the definition of critical heart disease in the newborn

Infants born with congenital heart disease (CHD) may require emergent treatment in the newborn period. These infants are likely to benefit the most from a prenatal diagnosis, which allows for optimal perinatal planning. Several cardiac centers have created guidelines for the management of these high-risk patients with CHD. This paper will review and compare several prenatal CHD classification systems with a particular focus on the most critical forms of CHD in the fetus and newborn. A contemporary definition of critical CHD is one which requires urgent intervention in the first 24 h of life to prevent death. Such cardiac interventions may be not only life saving for the infant but also decrease subsequent morbidity. Critical CHD cases may require delivery at specialized centers that can provide perinatal, obstetric, cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery care. Fetuses diagnosed in mid-gestation require detailed fetal diagnostics and serial monitoring during the prenatal period, in order to assess for ongoing changes and identify progression to a more severe cardiac status. Critical CHD may progress in utero and there is still much to be learned about how to best predict those who will require urgent neonatal interventions. Despite improved therapeutic capabilities, newborns with critical CHD continue to have significant morbidity and mortality due to compromise that begins in the delivery room. Fetal echocardiography is the best way to predict the need for specialized care at birth to improve outcome. Once the diagnosis is made of critical CHD, delivery at the proper time and in appropriate institution with specific care protocols should be initiated. More work needs to be done to better delineate the risk factors for progression of critical CHD and to determine which newborns will require specialized care. The most frequently described forms of critical CHD requiring immediate intervention include hypoplastic left heart syndrome with intact or severely restricted atrial septum, obstructed total anomalous pulmonary venous return and transposition of the great arteries with restrictive atrial septum.

Recommendations for Fetal Echocardiography in Twin Pregnancy in 2016

Progress in the fields of fetal cardiology and fetal surgery have been seen not only in singleton pregnancies but also in multiple pregnancies. Proper interpretation of prenatal echocardiography is critical to clinical decision making, family counseling and perinatal management for obstetricians, maternal fetal medicine specialists, neonatologists and pediatric cardiologists. Fetal echocardiography is one of the most challenging and time-consuming prenatal examinations to perform, especially in multiple gestations. Performing just the basic fetal exam in twin gestations may take an hour or more. Thus, it is not practical to perform this exam in all cases of multiple gestations. Therefore our review and recommendations are related to fetal echocardiography in twin gestation.