Screening of maternal serum for prenatal Down's syndrome and neural tube defects: an Italian experience

Serum AFP, uE3, β-HCGare all non-invasive techniques able to identify pregnant women at high risk of Down's syndrome and neural tube defects (NTD). We collected 1017 sera from pregnant women (age range: 18–41 years; gestation: 15–21 weeks). It is important that to calculate Down's syndrome risk to be sure what population parameters in computer software are used, and how appropriate these are for the population being screened. Our results from the risky pregnancies show an acceptable agreement between the Triple tests and amniocentesis.