Authors:
Pandya PP. Snijders RJ. Johnson SP. De Lourdes Brizot M. Nicolaides KH.
Institution:
Harris Birthright Research Centre forFetal Medicine, King's College Hospital Medical School, London, UK.
Title:
Screening for fetal trisomies by maternal age and fetal nuchal translucency thickness at 10 to 14 weeks of gestation (1995-1009).
Source:
British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 102(12):957-62, 1995 Dec.
Abstract:
Objectives:
To evaluate screening for chromosomal defects by a combination of fetal nuchal translucency thickness and maternal age.
Design:
A prospective multicentre screening study where fetal nuchal translucency thickness was measured at 10 to 14 weeks of gestation.
Subjects:
20,804 women with singleton pregnancies screened at 10 to 14 weeks of gestation from 1 September 1992 to 28 October 1994.
Settings, Design and Main Outcome Measures:
Trisomy 21 and other chromosomal defects identified by increased nuchal translucency thickness and by a combination of nuchal translucency thickness and maternal age.
Results:
In normal fetuses nuchal translucency thickness increased significantly with crown-rump length. The nuchal translucency was above the 95th centile in 77% of fetuses with trisomy 21 and in 78% of those with other chromosomal defects. On the basis of the distribution of nuchal translucency measurements in normal fetuses and those with trisomy 21, a new method of screening is proposed which involves assessment of individual risk based on the combination of fetal nuchal translucency, crown-rump length and maternal age. The minimum risk was 1/100 in 4.9% of the normal pregnancies, in 80% of those with trisomy 21 and in 77% of those with other chromosomal defects.
Conclusion:
Screening for fetal trisomy 21 can be carried out effectively during the first trimester of pregnancy.
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