Intracardiac echogenic focus: Its importance during routine prenatal ultrasound screening in a black African population

IF 0.1 Q4 RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING
J. Akinmoladun, B. Adebayo, A. Adekanmi
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Abstract

Background: Intracardiac echogenic focus (ICEF) is defined as a small bright structure within the fetal heart with similar or greater echogenicity to the surrounding bone. The cause of ICEF is unknown, although it is generally believed to be a normal variant. However, several authors have reported a possible association between an ICEF and chromosomal abnormalities, while some others have found an association with structural cardiac anomalies. There are presently no data on this subject in sub-Saharan Africa about the possible correlation with other anomalies. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, hospital-based study in a native West African population that spanned 5 years and 5 months. All the pregnant women who presented for routine prenatal ultrasound screening for fetal anomaly between 18 and 22 weeks' gestation age during the study period were included in the study. The prevalence and pattern of ICEF and correlations with cardiac anomalies were determined. Results: In this study, 1.986 fetuses were evaluated for ICEF. The prevalence of ICEF was 2.2%, and more commonly (38.6%) seen in fetuses of mothers aged 30–34 years. Twenty-five percent (25%) occurred in fetuses of mothers that are older than 35 years. Most cases (65.7%) occurred in mothers that had no risk factors for the cardiac anomaly. Majority of the ICEF were solitary and within the left ventricle (95.5% and 93.2%, respectively). About 2.3% of the ICEF were biventricular. Among those that had further echocardiographic evaluation, 15% had major structural cardiac defects. Conclusion: A left ventricular ICEF may not indicate a normal variant in all cases. We propose the addition of detailed fetal echocardiography to rule out structural cardiac anomalies.
心内回声病灶:在非洲黑人人群常规产前超声筛查中的重要性
背景:心内回声灶(ICEF)是指胎儿心脏内的一个小而明亮的结构,其回声与周围骨骼相似或更大。ICEF的病因尚不清楚,尽管人们普遍认为它是一种正常的变体。然而,一些作者报告了ICEF与染色体异常之间的可能联系,而其他一些作者则发现了与心脏结构异常之间的联系。在撒哈拉以南非洲,目前还没有关于这一主题与其他异常现象可能存在相关性的数据。材料和方法:这是一项前瞻性的、横断面的、以医院为基础的研究,对西非原住民进行了为期5年零5个月的研究。在研究期间,所有在18至22周孕龄期间接受常规产前超声筛查的孕妇都被纳入了研究。确定了ICEF的患病率和模式以及与心脏异常的相关性。结果:在本研究中,对1.986名胎儿进行了ICEF评估。ICEF的患病率为2.2%,在30-34岁母亲的胎儿中更常见(38.6%)。百分之二十五(25%)发生在35岁以上母亲的胎儿中。大多数病例(65.7%)发生在没有心脏异常危险因素的母亲身上。大多数ICEF是孤立的并且在左心室内(分别为95.5%和93.2%)。大约2.3%的ICEF是双心室的。在接受进一步超声心动图评估的患者中,15%的患者存在严重的心脏结构缺陷。结论:左心室ICEF可能并非在所有病例中都显示正常变异。我们建议增加详细的胎儿超声心动图,以排除结构性心脏异常。
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来源期刊
West African Journal of Radiology
West African Journal of Radiology RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING-
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