Fetal Intracardiac Echogenic Focus In Pregnants Underwent Amniocentesis

Objective: It was aimed to define the frequency of intracardiac echogenic focuses in the fetuses with normal karyotype and with Down syndrome in our study population. Methods: The intracardiac echogenic focuses obtained from second line USG are tested in the fetuses whom made amniocentesis and karyotyping because of the reasons like old maternal age, increased risks with in scanning tests, structural anomalies in the USG and family history. Results: The 1,350 fetuses whom made karyotype analysis; 1,293 of the fetuses obtained with normal karyotype. Thirty-two of the fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome, 10 of fetuses with trisomy 18, 6 of them with trisomy 13, 5 of them with Turner syndrome and 4 of fetuses are obtained with other aneuploidies. The frequency of fetal intracardiac echogenic focuses was found 2.4% with in normal fetuses,12.5% fetuses with in Down syndrome, 0% of fetuses with trisomy 18, 16.6% of fetuses with trisomy 13, 0% of fetuses with Turner syndrome and 4 fetuses having other karyotypes. The frequency of echogenic focuses was found higher significantly in fetuses with Down syndrome than the fetuses who have normal karyotype (p<0.05). Conclusion: Although the frequency of fetal intracardiac echogenic focuses are seen to be higher in fetuses with Down syndrome by comparison with the fetuses which have normal karyotype, more studies must be performed to accept it as a marker.