Resumen

GONZALEZ HERRERA, Lorna et al. Effectiveness of Increased Nuchal Translucency in Detecting Pregnancies at Risk for Chromosomal Abnormalities. Medisur [online]. 2014, vol.12, n.1, pp. 63-76. ISSN 1727-897X.

Background: assessment of embryonic anatomy by ultrasound since early ages leads to the detection of pregnancies at risk for chromosomal abnormalities. Advanced maternal age alone is not enough. Objective: to assess the results of the nuchal translucency measurement at the first trimester ultrasound as a sonographic marker of chromosomal abnormalities.Methods: a sample of 29 334 pregnant women was studied from September 2006 to December 2010. General performance of the sonographic marker was assessed taking into account the years and maternal age. Effectiveness of increased nuchal translucency in the indirect detection of chromosomal abnormalities was determined using the common parameters. Results: the net number of increased nuchal translucencies diminished over the years, as well as the absolute amount of prenatal karyotypes performed; but its proportion increased along with the positive prenatal karyotypes among women with increased nuchal translucency. Among the 71 fetuses with increased translucency, seven cases of chromosomal abnormalities were confirmed by other elements of the prenatal program. The sensitivity of the isolated nuchal translucency was 14.6%; specificity was high (99.8%); positive and negative predictive values were 18.4% and 99.9%, respectively. Rates of false positives were very low. Conclusions: high specificity reaffirms nuchal translucency as a good early marker of risk for chromosomal abnormalities, particularly Down syndrome and Trisomy 18, with a minimum rate of indications for invasive testing and an extra increase in the detection of fetal defects.

Palabras clave : nuchal translucency measurement; ultrasonography, prenatal; chromosome disorders; congenital abnormalities.

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