IS A 5-STEP APPROACH TO FETAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY FEASIBLE THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY

The purpose of th is study was to determine whether gestational age im pacted on the length of time required to obtain or identify (not scrut inize) views of the fetal heart considered essential for a complete ex amination, Fetal heart studies were performed in pregnancies of 60 pat ients who were recruited prospectively. These patients were placed in three gestational age groups. A 5-step approach to fetal echocardiogra phy was formulated for study purposes and included imaging of cardiac structures considered essential for a complete examination. Data were analyzed by Duncan ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. Among th e three gestational age groups, there were no significant differences in the length of time needed to obtain views that comprised the 5-step approach. in this study the time needed to scrutinize each view for n ormality was excluded. Furthermore, there was no correlation between g estational age and the length of time taken to obtain all essential ca rdiac views. The presence of factors cited to be hindrances to fetal h eart examination was not associated with prolongation of time needed t o identify essential views of the heart when a 5-step approach was uti lized throughout pregnancy.