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The use of amniotic fluid AFP action limits in diagnosing open neural tube defects
Author(s) -
Brock David J. H.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.1970010105
Subject(s) - anencephaly , neural tube , amniotic fluid , gestation , medicine , spina bifida , obstetrics , amniocentesis , prenatal diagnosis , neural tube defect , pregnancy , fetus , pediatrics , embryo , biology , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology
An analysis is made of alphafetoprotein (AFP) concentrations in 3630 amniotic fluids submitted for prospective prenatal diagnoses over a 7‐year period. There were 89 cases of anencephaly, 74 of open spina bifida and 3467 with normal singleton outcomes. The AFP data were expressed in both standard deviations above the mean and multiples of the normal median for individual weeks of gestation. False positive and false negative rates were comparable in the two systems at selected cut‐offs. It is concluded that either system may be used in setting action limits for the primary distinction of unaffected pregnancies from those in which an open neural tube defect is present.