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Nuchal translucency screening and antenatal maternal serum screening for Down syndrome: results of a project
Author(s) -
Benavides C. E.,
Garcia C. C.,
Lagos N. C.,
Melgarejo X. C.,
Ferres M. I. C.
Publication year - 2001
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 - 10.1046/j.1469-0705.2001.0180s1037.x
Subject(s) - medicine , amniocentesis , obstetrics , nuchal translucency , down syndrome , gynecology , trisomy , advanced maternal age , pregnancy , gestational age , estriol , false positive rate , gestation , prenatal diagnosis , first trimester , fetus , statistics , genetics , estrogen , mathematics , psychiatry , biology
Objectives: To asses the implementation of antenatal screening for Down syndrome using individual risk estimates based on maternal age, nuchal translucency and three serum markers; alpha fetoprotein, unconjugated estriol and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) in maternal blood. Women with an estimated risk of 1 in 250 or greater were classified as screen positive and offered diagnostic amniocentesis. Subjects: A total of 1956 women of all ages with singleton pregnancies seen between June 1999 and March 2001. Results: The screening result of combination of first trimester ultrasonographic and serum screening was 85% Down syndrome detection and the false positive rate was 3%. The median gestational age of nuchal translucency was 11 weeks and the time of serum screening was 16 weeks. Conclusion: The combination of nuchal translucency and serum screening increases the Down syndrome detection and decreases the false positive rate. Is very important because the amniocentesis is associated with a risk of pregnancy loss from 0.5 to 1%. Besides, it is cost‐effective and performs better than the selection for amniocentesis on the basis of maternal age only, nuchal translucency only or serum screening.