Prenatal ultrasound monitoring and diagnostic accuracy rates of fetal congenital heart disease: A meta-analysis

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect that is caused by genetic and acquired factors. Accurate prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) can ensure proper delivery and in-time postpartum management, but the diagnostic rate is not clear. PubMed, CNKI, Web of Science, Wanfang, and VIP databases were searched for publications investigating CHD during prenatal ultrasound scans. Original studies with strict screening and diagnostic criteria were included. Fixed effect model or random effect model was used according to homogeneity statistical test. A total of 859 CHD cases were diagnosed by ultrasound, and 1394 cases were confirmed by induced labor autopsy or at birth. The heterogeneity of the analysis was 100% and the accuracy of CHD diagnosis using prenatal ultrasound was 76% (95%CI: 50.00%-102%). The diagnostic yield of fetal CHD screening using ultrasound alone is still not very high, which lower than the combined diagnostic yield of other studies. This suggests the need to combine other monitoring methods that do not harm fetal development. When economic conditions permit, the diagnosis of CHD can be recommended to use no less than two monitoring methods. (Afr J Reprod Health 2023; 27 [6]: 33-40).