fcresources

Fetal Cardiology - Online Resources

A small selection of links - see our Terms of Use for information on 3rd party links

Link: UK Antenatal Diagnosis statistics, CCAD 2004-2008

Publications & Specialist info.

PubMed (Search Medline: online medical abstracts)
US National Library of Medicine | Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM, free genetic/anomaly database)
MedicalNewsToday (hourly health news and articles)

Cardiac/Congenital information
Karolinska: Cardiovascular Diseases (Library Reference)
Surgicaltechnologist (General Surgical info.)
CardioSource (full text cardiology articles)
March of Dimes (CHD) (General CHD Information)
National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN)
Diagnostic Imaging (General Diagnostic Imaging)

Fetal/Obstetric/Ultrasound information
Obstetric Ultrasound (Reference Information)
Prenatal Echocardiography (in 3 & 4 Dimensions, UCL)
Centre for Fetal Care (at Queen Charlotte's, London)
Fetal Medicine Unit (at St George's, London)
Fetal Medicine Foundation (at Kings, London) - Fetal Heart videos (select "Heart")
RCOG - fetal/maternal medicine books

Eurofetus (fetoscopy and TTTS)
The Fetus Net (includes fetal cardiology & images)
Sonoworld (educational materials for ultrasound practitioners)
Yagel et al., 5 transverse in Fetal Cardiology (2nd edition, 2008) (online book)

History of Medical Ultrasound (on ObGyn.net) | A Short History (on Ob-Ultrasound.net)

Fetal images (fetal & paediatric)
Fetal Echocardiology images (University of Pennsylvania)
Heart Encyclopedia (Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Heart Center) - Paediatric Congenital Anomalies
Embryology Stages - Stages of embryonic development (UNSW)

UK Outcome & Audit data: fetal & paediatric congenital heart disease & anomalies
Central Cardiac Audit Database (www.ccad.org.uk/congenital) - Paediatric Congenital Heart Disease statistics
CEMACH (formerly CESDI) | BINOCAR (British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers)

EACTS (European Assoc. Cardi-Thoracic Surgeons)
Congenital anomaly surveillance in England - ascertainment deficiencies in the national system, BMJ, 2005

General (UK)
Specialist Info (Specialists/Directory of Services) | GMC (General Medical Council) | Doctor's Net (for customised searches) | DrFosterIntelligence.co.uk (partnered with NHS Information Centre) | NLH (www.library.nhs.uk) (NHS National Library for Health) 
Support for professional congenital cardiology training - The Madeleine Steel Fellowship

3D Fetal Heart Model (updated: Jan. 2010)

http://www.sensiblemodels.co.uk
- a model fetal heart that demonstrates the structures in the scan planes and their relationships to each other

Fetal Echo CDs (updated: Jan. 2010)

Tiny Tickers Fetal Heart Scan CDs (to complement "hands-on" fetal heart training)

"Cardiac Screening Examination of the Fetus": DeVore, (c) ISUOG, 2006
DeVore Cardiology CD http://www.fetalecho.com (1-user licence costs approx. $275 via Web)

Fetal Echocardiography: A Practical Guide, Lindsey D. Allan, Andrew C. Cook and Ian C. Huggon, 2009
(usually with accompanying DVD) - links: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Cambridge University Press

(Note: formerly: Fetal Cardiology CD (Lindsey Allan), originally distributed via TKI Medical (Europe) Ltd.)

selected articles (improving CoHD screening) (checked: Apr. 2006)

Carvalho et al, "Improving the effectiveness of routine prenatal screening for major
congenital heart defects", Heart, 2002, volume 88, pages 387-391

Note: check latest references used by NICE Screening Update, 2008

Cochrane review

Cochrane Collaboration (Cochrane Library) | Cochrane Library (Update Software)

Doppler ultrasound for fetal assessment in high risk pregnancies
Reviewers' conclusions: The use of Doppler ultrasound in high risk pregnancies appears to improve a number of obstetric care outcomes and appears promising in helping to reducing perinatal deaths.

Ultrasound for fetal assessment in early pregnancy
Reviewers' conclusions: Routine ultrasound in early pregnancy appears to enable better gestational age assessment, earlier detection of multiple pregnancies and earlier detection of clinically unsuspected fetal malformation at a time when termination of pregnancy is possible. However, the benefits for other substantive outcomes are less clear.

Routine Doppler ultrasound in pregnancy
Reviewers' conclusions: Based on existing evidence, routine Doppler ultrasound in low risk or unselected populations does not confer benefit on mother or baby. Future research should be powerful enough to address small changes in perinatal outcome, and should include evaluation of maternal psychological effects, long term outcomes such as neurodevelopment, and issues of safety.

Routine ultrasound in late pregnancy (after 24 weeks gestation)
Reviewers' conclusions: Based on existing evidence, routine late pregnancy ultrasound in low risk or unselected populations does not confer benefit on mother or baby. There is a lack of data about the potential psychological effects of routine ultrasound in late pregnancy, and the effects on both short and long term neonatal and childhood outcome. Placental grading in the third trimester may be valuable, but whether reported results are reproducible remains to be seen, and future research of late pregnancy ultrasound should include evaluation of placental textural assessment.

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