Table 1.
Cases of fetal dextrocardia and situs solitus diagnosed on prenatal ultrasound
| First author, year [Ref.] | Dextrocardia cases (n) | Definition of dextrocardia | Situs type % (n) | Frequency of CHD with situs solitus and dextrocardia % (n) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SS | SI | SA | ||||
| Comstock (1998) [48] | 22 | - Defined as a right cardiac axisa - Any fetus with abnormal heart position was not included |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 68% (15) of all dextrocardia cases had CHD (frequency for situs solitus alone unavailable) |
| Walmsley (2004) [5] | 46 | - Right-sided position of the heart (most of the heart located in the right hemithorax) - Direction of apex was not a criteria |
22% (10) | 39% (18) | 39% (18) | 100% (10) |
| Bernasconi (2005) [2] | 81 | - Major axis of the heart points to the right - Fetuses with dextroposition (heart shifted into the right chest due to an extracardiac abnormality) were excluded |
47% (38) | 23% (19) | 30% (24) | 66% (25) |
| Bohun (2007) [44] | 81 total cases - 48 diagnosed prenatally - 33 diagnosed postnatally |
- Right-sided embryologic development of the heart with most of the heart mass positioned in the right hemithorax | 33%b (27) |
37%b (30) |
30%b (24) |
For all cases of situs solitus (diagnosed both pre- and postnatally), CHD was found in 96% (26/27) |
| Falkensammer (2008) [6] | 26 | - Fetal heart positioned in the right chest, with the apex pointing to the right | 23% (6) |
8% (2) |
69% (18) |
50% (3) |
| Ozkutlu (2011) [50] | 10 | - Heart located in the right hemithorax with the apex pointing to the right | 60% (6) |
30% (3) |
10% (1) |
100% (6) |
| Oztunc (2015) [4] | 22 | - Right-sided positioning of the heart (most of the heart in the right hemithorax) - Direction of apex was not a criterion - Primary dextrocardia (due to embryologic development) |
46% (10) |
18% (4) |
36% (8) |
80% (8) |
CHD, congenital heart disease; N/A, not available; SA, situs ambiguous; SI, situs inversus; SS, situs solitus.
a
Cardiac axes from 25 degrees to the left of midline to anywhere in the midline or right chest.
b
No information on situs types for prenatally diagnosed cases only.