Down Syndrome

Blood Screening Test No More Effective than Simply Using Age and Scans

Published in Women's Health Weekly, March 18th, 2000

Antenatal screening for Down syndrome using a blood test - serum screening, sometimes known as the "triple test" - is no more likely to detect the condition than using the mother's age and ultrasound scans, finds research in the March 2, 2000, British Medical Journal.

Furthermore, the method was introduced without any scientific evidence for its clinical effectiveness, say the authors.

Since 1992, serum screening has been widely accepted as the preferred method for antenatal detection of Down syndrome, the risk of which rises with age, especially after 35. Despite its additional costs, the test was introduced on the assumption that it can...

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Source: Women's Health Weekly (2000-03-18)

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