Incidental detection of congenital heart disease by neonatologist performed cardiac ultrasound in extreme preterm infants.

Abstract

Objective We aimed to assess the frequency of neonatologist-performed cardiac ultrasound (NPCU) in detecting de novo congenital heart disease (CHD) in premature infants born at < 30 weeks of gestation. Study Design In this cross-sectional study (2004-2023) clinicians completing NPCU flagged de novo suspected CHD. All flagged NPCUs were cross-checked with cardiologists to confirm CHD diagnosis. Results There were 2088 out of 3739 infants (56%) with at least one NPCU; 294 (14%) with cardiology referral. CHD was confirmed in 109 of 2088 (5.2%) babies. All major and critical CHD with NPCU were suspected on scans and care promptly taken over by cardiology. Conclusion De novo presentation of significant CHD still occurs in the preterm population and needs to be recognized by those performing NPCU. Optimizing NPCU may provide benefits in the early cardiology referral of patients with CHD in centers where services are able to collaborate.