Abnormal Extracardiac Development in Fetuses With Congenital Heart Disease

BACKGROUND Knowledge about extracardiac anomalies (ECA) in fetal congenital heart disease (CHD) can improve our understanding of the developmental origins of various outcomes in these infants. The prevalence and spectrum of ECA, including structural brain anomalies (SBA), on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in fetuses with different types of CHD and at different gestational ages, is unknown. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate ECA rates and types on MRI in fetuses with different types of CHD and across gestation. METHODS A total of 429 consecutive fetuses with CHD and MRI between 17 and 38 gestational weeks were evaluated. ECA and SBA rates were assessed for each type of CHD and classified by gestational age (<25 or >= 25 weeks) at MRI. RESULTS Of all 429 fetuses with CHD, 243 (56.6%) had ECA on MRI, and 109 (25.4%) had SBA. Among the 191 fetuses with normal genetic testing results, the ECA rate was 54.5% and the SBA rate 19.4%. Besides SBA, extrafetal (21.2%) and urogenital anomalies (10.7%) were the most prevalent ECA on MRI in all types of CHD. Predominant SBA were anomalies of hindbrain-midbrain (11.0% of all CHD), dorsal prosencephalon (10.0%) development, and abnormal cerebrospinal fluid spaces (10.5%). There was no difference in the prevalence or pattern of ECA between early (<25 weeks; 45.7%) and late (>= 25 weeks; 54.3%) fetal MRI. CONCLUSIONS ECA and SBA rates on fetal MRI are high across all types of CHD studied, and ECA as well as SBA are already present from midgestation onward. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

Automated summary

The study found high rates of extracardiac anomalies (ECA) and structural brain anomalies (SBA) on fetal MRI in various types of congenital heart disease (CHD), which are already present from midgestation onward. Predominant SBA include anomalies of hindbrain-midbrain, dorsal prosencephalon development, and abnormal cerebrospinal fluid spaces.