title: Current methods of prenatal screening for Down syndrome and other fetal abnormalities.
abstract: Prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is widely available, but the determination of which patients should undergo prenatal diagnosis is changing. With the recent acceptance of first-trimester and integrated screening as a part of routine clinical practice, there are now a variety of accepted screening protocols for Down syndrome and other aneuploidies. These choices can be confusing both to both patients and providers. The following discussion is meant to outline the various options in prenatal screening, and their individual advantages and disadvantages.
authors.affiliation: Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. dns3f@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Devereux N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Saller
authors.forename: Jacob A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Canick
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000782:Aneuploidy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008423:Maternal Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers