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First‐trimester alpha‐fetoprotein screening for Down syndrome
Author(s) -
Fuhrmann W.,
Altland K.,
Jovanovic V.,
Holzgreve W.,
Miny P.,
Wenger D.,
Rauskolb R.
Publication year - 1993
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.1970130309
Subject(s) - alpha fetoprotein , down syndrome , medicine , alpha (finance) , obstetrics , prenatal diagnosis , pregnancy , gynecology , fetus , biology , genetics , psychiatry , surgery , hepatocellular carcinoma , construct validity , patient satisfaction
Screening for Down syndrome and other chromosomal aneuploidies by biochemical parameters in maternal serum is well established for the second trimester. With screening as late as 16 weeks of gestation, the option of chorionic villus sampling (CVS) unfortunately is lost. In our study population, the maternal serum alpha‐fetoprotein (MSAFP) concentration was determined in 2471 women in the first trimester immediately prior to CVS. Although in this sample MSAFP tended to be lower in Down syndrome (DS) pregnancies than in pregnancies with a chromosomally normal fetus, at this early gestational age neither a fixed cut‐off level of 0·5 multiples of the normal median (MOM) nor one of 0·6 MOM was suitable for identifying pregnancies at higher risk for DS. This also applied to trisomy 18, although on average MSAFP in trisomy 18 pregnancies was lower than in normal and DS pregnancies.