Infant during follow-up examination., Wolfram Scheible für Nationales Register © Wolfram Scheible für Nationales Register

Medicine and Healthcare

Congenital Heart Defects Detected too Rarely

Prenatal diagnostics still inadequate

September 7, 2010

Scientific name of the study

Prevalence of congenital heart defects in newborns in Germany

Many congenital heart defects can be diagnosed during pregnancy. To do so, a uniform screening program is urgently required. This was revealed by the PAN study.

Above-average Incidence of Undiagnosed Defects

Almost all pregnant women in Germany are examined for organ malformations of the unborn child. Nevertheless, congenital heart defects were often not detected.

This alarming discovery was made by the nationwide PAN study, which, for the first time, collected data on all newborns in Germany with a heart defect between 2006 and 2009.

Delayed Diagnosis Leads to Irreparable Damage

Delayed diagnosis can lead to irreparable brain and kidney damage in some heart defects. "Therefore, prenatal diagnosis of moderate and severe heart defects is of enormous importance for the health of the child and for planning corrective surgery," explains Professor Hashim Abdul-Khaliq, M.D., spokesperson for the Competence Network Congenital Heart Defects.

Experts Call for Screening Program

Early detection of the heart defect has a decisive influence on the outcome of the operation and the long-term course of the disease. Experts are therefore calling for a standardized screening program.

  • Scientific Details of the Study

    The PAN study
    With this image, the competence network advertised for study participants for the PAN study. Nationwide, the data of about 20,000 patients were collected. © Nationales Register
    With this image, the competence network advertised for study participants for the PAN study. Nationwide, the data of about 20,000 patients were collected.

    The PAN study was the first to prospectively determine the frequency of congenital heart defects in newborns in Germany. For the inventory, which started in 2006, the scientists collected and analyzed comprehensive data on cardiac malformations in individual birth cohorts from the entire country over a four-year period. The results provided important information on fundamental deficits in the medical care of children, adolescents and adults with congenital heart defects. The scientists also discovered gaps in early diagnosis.

    Learn more about the study design, material and methods, as well as the background of the study:

    Publications

    • 8.8.2011

      Die Diagnose wird häufig zu spät gestellt

      Abdul-Khaliq H, Berger F

      Deutsches Ärzteblatt 108, 31-32, A1683-1684, (2011).

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