Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesCohort study
Fetal Cardiomyopathy in the Contemporary Era: A Multicenter Fetal Heart Society Research Collaborative Study
- single-arm (descriptive) retrospective cohort study
- 26 North American centers
- Fetal Heart Society Research Collaborative
Authors' conclusion
Fetal cardiomyopathy outcomes have improved in the current era, although only half achieve 1-year cardiac transplant-free survival. Genetic testing identifies a cause in one-third of cases. Hydrops at the time of fetal cardiomyopathy diagnosis and a prenatal diagnosis of extra-cardiac structural anomalies remain important risk factors for mortality.
Study context
- Population
- Fetal cardiomyopathy cases diagnosed from January 2017 to December 2021; cases attributable to maternal diabetes, extra-cardiac conditions, structural heart disease, or arrhythmias excludedcases of fetal cardiomyopathy
- Participants
- 148 cases
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Opted for pregnancy termination
6.7% (10/148)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Fetal death among continuing pregnancies
- Continuing pregnancies with fetal death
- 8.6% (12/138)
Overall survival among continuing pregnancies · 1 year
- Overall 1-year survival
- 61.5% (85/138)
Transplant-free survival among continuing pregnancies · 1 year
- 1-year transplant-free survival
- 50.0% (69/138)
Palliative care from the outset (of live births)
- Of live births, received palliative care from the outset
- 8.8% (11/124)
Listing for cardiac transplant and transplantation · by age 1-year
- Of those with intention to treat, listed for cardiac transplant
- 21.2% (24/113)
- Of those listed, received transplantation by age 1-year
- 75.0% (18/24)
Genetic etiologies
- Genetic etiologies found
- 34.0% (50/147)
- Variants of uncertain significance in an additional
- 27.2% (40/147)
Prenatal factors associated with death or transplant by 1-year of age
- Fetal hydrops at the time of prenatal diagnosis
- P = 0.001
- Prenatal diagnosis of extracardiac structural anomalies
- P ≤ 0.001
Follow-up completeness
- Lost to follow-up
- 1.4% (2/138)
Original publication
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it