Adding serum or nuchal translucency screening to traditional tests does not improve the antenatal detection of Down’s syndrome, according to a report published in the July 6th issue of the British Medical Journal. In this study, UK researchers found that serum testing or serum testing plus nuchal translucency scanning was no better at detecting Down’s syndrome antenatally than traditional anomaly scanning.
Nearly all pregnant women receive an anomaly scan, lead author Dr. Diana Wellesley of Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton, UK, told Reuters Health. “Introducing these additional tests will not raise the rate of detection,” she said.
Maternal serum testing has long been assumed to provide a better indication than maternal age of the need for invasive diagnostic testing. In an attempt to reduce the amniocentesis rate, the British government decided that by the year 2004, all pregnant women should have the option of a serum testing to help them decide if amniocentesis is warranted.
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