title: [The significance of screening tests for aneuploidies in populations at low and high maternal-age-related risk].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of the triple test and the screen test in maternal populations at low and high maternal-age-related risk for fetal aneuploidy.
  
  
  METHODS
  As a whole, 9,680 pregnant women at low risk and 627 at high risk underwent the triple test; 2,780 pregnant women at low risk and 408 at high risk underwent the screen or combined test; sensitivity, specificity, false positives and detection rate were compared between populations using Student's t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The triple test showed a detection rate of 75% in the low and 83.3% in the high risk population with a difference (P<0.003) for detection of trisomies 21 and 18 between the 2 populations; the screen test had a detection rates of 100% and 90% in the 2 populations, respectively, with a difference (P<0.005) between the 2 tests.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both tests are reliable for screening aneuploidies in the low risk population, the screen test having better performance; in the high risk population, the number of invasive procedures can be reduced by 78% with the triple test and by 84% with the screen test.
authors.affiliation: Centro di Diagnosi Prenatale, Dipartimento di Pediatria, Ostetricia e Medicina della Riproduzione, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy. centini@unisi.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Centini
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosignoli
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scarinci
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pasqui
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Talluri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kenanidis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Faldini
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cazzavacca
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petraglia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D008423:Maternal Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D014314:Trisomy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*