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Centre‐specific ultrasound nuchal translucency medians needed for Down syndrome screening
Author(s) -
Logghe H.,
Cuckle H.,
Sehmi I.
Publication year - 2003
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.597
Subject(s) - nuchal translucency , gestation , down syndrome , medicine , ultrasound , obstetrics , gestational age , nuchal translucency measurement , gynecology , pregnancy , first trimester , biology , radiology , psychiatry , genetics
Nuchal translucency (NT) measurements were compared between 13 centres participating in a multi‐marker Down syndrome screening program. Results from 4765 women were analysed, and there were highly statistically significant between‐centre differences after allowing for gestation ( P < 0.0001). Examination of maternal serum marker levels, expressed in multiples of the median (MoM) for gestation, showed that this was not due to gestational errors. Regression analysis was carried out to derive an equation with a centre‐specific component that could be used to express NT in MoMs. Use of this equation reduced the variance of logNT by 15% compared to a published equation. The equation can be readily modified for use in other centres. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.