BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that fetal echocardiography (echoCG) is an accurate diagnostic tool reflecting well postnatal echoCG findings and outcomes. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 290 pregnant women, including 313 fetuses, who were examined by fetal echoCG at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital from January 2008 through April 2011. RESULTS: The mean gestational age at diagnosis was 26.2+/-5.2 weeks. The mean age of mothers at diagnosis was 31.7+/-3.8 years. We identified indications for fetal echoCG in 279 cases. The most common indication was abnormal cardiac findings in obstetrical screening sonography (52.0%). Among the 313 echoCG results, 127 (40.6%) were normal, 13 (4.2%) were minor abnormalities, 35 (11.2%) were simple cardiac anomalies, 50 (16.0%) were moderate cardiac anomalies, 60 (19.2%) were complex cardiac anomalies, 16 (5.1%) were arrhythmias, and 12 (3.8%) were twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. The most common congenital heart disease was tetralogy of Fallot (23 fetuses, 15.9%). One hundred forty-eight neonates were examined by echoCG. We analyzed differences between fetal echoCG and postnatal echoCG. In 131 (88.5%) cases, there was no difference; in 15 (10.1%), there were minor differences; and in only 2 (1.4%) cases, there were major differences. CONCLUSION: There is a recent increase in abnormal cardiac findings of obstetric ultrasonography screenings that indicate fetal echoCG. Fetal echoCG is still a good, accurate diagnostic method for congenital heart disease.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Fetofetal Transfusion ; Fetus ; Gestational Age ; Heart ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Mass Screening ; Medical Records ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Tetralogy of Fallot ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal

BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence implicates an association between ambient air pollution and impaired reproductive potential of human. Our study aimed to assess the association between air pollution and ovarian reserve in young, infertile women. METHODS: Our study included 2276 Korean women who attended a single fertility center in 2016-2018. Women's exposure to air pollution was assessed using concentrations of particulate matter (PM RESULTS: The mean age was 36.6 ± 4.2 years and AMH level was 3.3 ± 3.1 ng/mL in the study population. Average AMH ratio was 0.8 ± 0.7 and low AMH was observed in 10.3% of women (n=235). The average concentration of six air pollutants was not different between the normal ovarian reserve and low AMH groups for all averaging periods. In multivariable models, an interquartile range (IQR)-increase in 1 month-average PM CONCLUSIONS In a cohort of infertile Korean women, there was a suggestive evidence of the negative association between ambient PM concentration and ovarian reserve, highlighting the potential adverse impact of air pollution on women's fertility.
Adult ; Air Pollutants/adverse effects* ; Air Pollution/adverse effects* ; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects* ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility, Female/etiology* ; Ovarian Reserve/physiology* ; Republic of Korea