Fetal echocardiography in a low-income setting: relying on local Maternal-fetal medicine experts for detection of fetal cardiac anomalies.

Abstract

To describe the experience of performing fetal echocardiography (FE) to detect fetal cardiac anomalies prenatally in an Ethiopian setting. A cross-sectional study was conducted at St Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), from October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. Data for FEcases (on a risk-factor indication basis) performed at 22-24 weeks at the hospital during the study period were collected prospectively and analyzed using SPSSS version 23. Simple descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results were presented as percentages and frequencies. A total of 142 women who had FEwere analyzed in this study. Fetal structural defect in other systems and maternal diabetes mellitus were the commonest indications for FE, seen in 48.2% (67/142) and 25.7% (36/142) of the participants, respectively. There were 5 cases(3.5%) of fetal cardiac anomalies among which were hypoplastic left heart syndrome, pulmonary stenosis, and cardiac tumor. The prevalence of fetal cardiac anomalies in this study was found to be 3.5%. Fetal structural defects and maternal diabetes mellitus were the commonest indications for FEwhich is consistent with findings from previous similar studies.