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All five digits of the hands of fetuses with Down syndrome are short
Author(s) -
Maymon R.,
Tovbin Y.,
Dreazen E.,
Weinraub Z.,
Herman A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.202
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1469-0705
pISSN - 0960-7692
DOI - 10.1002/uog.1074
Subject(s) - medicine , fetus , pregnancy , genetics , biology
Abstract Objective To compare mid‐gestation sonographic measurements of all five digits of the hands of fetuses with Down syndrome with those of normal controls. Methods Twenty‐nine fetuses between 17 and 26 weeks' gestation which had been confirmed by karyotyping to have Down syndrome were included in this prospective study. Each fetus was scanned once and the digits of only one hand were measured. Measurements were compared with those of 302 previously reported normal controls matched for gestational age. All measurements were expressed in multiples of the gestation‐specific normal median (MoM) for each digit. Results Compared to 1 MoM for the length of Digits 1 to 5 from the normal population, the respective values in the Down syndrome digits were: 0.94, 0.85, 0.92, 0.88 and 0.85 MoM, representing values significantly lower than normal (P < 0.05; t‐test). Conclusions All five digits of the hands of fetuses with Down syndrome are shorter than are those of euploid fetuses. Integration of fetal digit measurement into the antenatal assessment of selected high‐risk cases may be of value although confirmation of our findings should be obtained before this measurement is incorporated into Down syndrome screening in the general population. Copyright © 2004 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.