Echogenic intracardiac foci and fetal cardiac anomalies: A review of cases from a tertiary care center in China.

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between the location of echogenic intracardiac foci (EIFs) and fetal cardiac anomalies in our patient population.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of the clinical files of fetuses who underwent an echocardiographic examination at our fetal cardiac medical center from August 2010 to August 2016. Fetuses were grouped by EIF location (left ventricle [LV], right ventricle [RV], or bilateral ventricles [BVs]). The maternal age, reason for referral, and cardiac anomalies in the three groups were analyzed.

RESULTS: We enrolled 2647 fetuses with an EIF. Of these, 2498 (94.4%) were in the LV group, while 45 (1.7%) and 104 (3.9%) were in the RV and BV groups, respectively. Aneuploidy was found in 3 fetuses, and all of these had a left-sided EIF. Cardiac anomalies were found in 93/2498 (3.7%) fetuses with a left-sided EIF, 5/45 (11.1%) of those with a right-sided EIF, and 3/104 (2.9%) of those with bilateral EIFs. The prevalence of congenital heart disease was significantly higher in fetuses with a right-sided EIF than in those with left-sided or bilateral EIFs (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Right-sided EIFs were more frequently associated with fetal cardiac anomalies than were left-sided or bilateral EIFs.