Population-Based Study of Prenatal Detection of Critical Congenital Heart Disease in Kyu-Yama Region of Japan.

Authors

Hazumu Nagata, Yuzo Kitadai, Takuya Hara, Mitsuhisa Shinya, Yuichiro Sugitani, Masako Takahashi, Koutaro Doi, Seigo Okada, Atsuya Shimabukuro, Hirohito Doi, Yutaka Kozuma, Tomonori Hamada, Junpei Kawamura, Takuhiro Nishihara, Yozo Teramachi, Nobuhiko Kan, Yasuki Maeno, Makoto Nishibatake

Published in

Pediatrics international : official journal of the Japan Pediatric Society. Volume 68. Issue 1. Pages e70467.

Abstract

The prenatal detection rate (PDR) of congenital heart disease (CHD) has been scarcely reported in Japan. This study aimed to investigate PDR of critical CHD in a region of Japan and to evaluate the impact of prenatal diagnosis on postnatal mortality and severe morbidity.
We included patients diagnosed with CHD either prenatally and postnatally between January 1st 2018 and December 31st 2020, based on the institutional database. The Kyu-Yama region comprises the seven prefectures of Kyushu island, Yamaguchi prefecture, and Okinawa prefecture. Clinical outcome was compared with prenatal versus postnatal diagnosis.
The overall PDR of critical CHD in the region was 64% (400 of 626 cases). Fifty-four (14%) fetuses were diagnosed within 22 weeks of gestational age. Among these cases, termination of pregnancy was selected in 5 (1%) cases. In subgroup analyses by CHD type, heterotaxy had the highest detection rate (91%), followed by hypoplastic left heart syndrome (86%). In contrast, lower detection rates were observed in transposition of the great arteries (43%) and total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (15%). Detection rates varied by prefectures, ranging from 41% to 75%. Among actively managed cases, overall, there was a significant difference in mortality and severe morbidity between prenatal and postnatal groups [66 (18%) vs. 20 (9%), p = 0.0031].
The overall PDR in this regional cohort was favorable; however, substantial differences remained across prefectures and CHD types. Reducing these disparities may require guideline-based education. Further research is warranted to clarify the prognostic impact of prenatal diagnosis.

PMID:
42324491
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Jun 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.