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The effectiveness of prenatal serum biomarker screening for neural tube defects in second trimester pregnant women: a meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Wang ZhiPing,
Li Hui,
Hao LianZheng,
Zhao ZhongTang
Publication year - 2009
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.2325
Subject(s) - confidence interval , medicine , meta analysis , neural tube , obstetrics , second trimester , pregnancy , neural tube defect , prenatal screening , gynecology , prenatal diagnosis , fetus , biology , embryo , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology
Abstract Background Neural tube defects (NTDs) are common and serious birth defects all over the world. Prenatal screening for NTDs using maternal serum alpha‐fetoprotein (MSAFP) during the second trimester of pregnancy has been widely used, but its effectiveness remains unclear. Methods We evaluated the studies published in the English and Chinese on MSAFP screening for NTDs. The homogeneity of the studies was evaluated by the forest graph. Meta‐analysis was applied to calculate the combined effect values and their 95% confidence intervals. Results As many as 22 articles were selected according to the criteria and were included in the meta‐analysis, for a total of 684 140 pregnant women screened during the second trimester. All the studies selected were homogenous according to the forest graph (χ 2 = 25.17, P > 0.10). The combined relative risk estimate was 0.25 and its 95% confidence interval was 0.21 to 0.29. The combined protective rate was 75%. The sensitivity and specificity of MSAFP screening were 75.1 and 97.7%, respectively. Conclusion Use of MSAFP during the second trimester in pregnant women is an effective measure for the screening of NTDs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.