Cardiac findings in routine fetal autopsies: more than meets the eye?

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the spectrum of cardiac anomalies found in routinely performed fetal autopsies and to establish the correlation between prenatal and postmortem diagnosis.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective study of fetal autopsies was performed. Cases with cardiac anomalies were analyzed. Seven main categories were established and each case was assigned to a single group. Cardiac defects were also classified as isolated or with associated anomalies. In the cases with prenatal diagnosis, we performed a correlation between prenatal and postmortem findings.

RESULTS

Abnormal cardiac findings were identified in 99 fetuses (13.6%). The two most common categories were septal defects and complex anomalies, each occurring in 21 fetuses (21.2%). Sixty-seven (67.7%) had associated anomalies. Septal anomalies were more frequent in cases with associated anomalies (p=0.012). Prenatal diagnosis had been performed in 50 cases. There was complete agreement between prenatal and postmortem diagnosis in 36 cases (72%), and major agreement with additional information in ten (20%). When the echocardiogram was not performed by a specialist, the number of cases classified with complete disagreement was higher (33.3% vs 2.4%) (p=0.002).

CONCLUSION

The high prevalence of cardiac defects in lost pregnancies, some of them lacking prenatal diagnosis, highlights the importance of examining the heart in all cases.