title: Maternal serum screening markers and nuchal translucency measurements in in vitro fertilization pregnancies: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the current literature on the association between IVF treatment and maternal serum screening marker levels and nuchal translucency thickness.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eligible studies included those with an exposed group of pregnant women that used IVF with or without intracytoplasmic sperm injection to conceive and a control group of pregnant women who conceived spontaneously.
  
  
  METHODS
  IVF treatment to conceive.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outcomes evaluated included maternal serum screening markers (pregnancy-associated plasma protein A [PAPP-A], alpha-fetoprotein, hCG, unconjugated estriol, dimeric inhibin-A) and nuchal translucency thickness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Database searches identified 4,118 titles and abstracts that were independently screened, which resulted in 76 articles that were assessed for eligibility. Additionally, one study was added for consideration based on expert knowledge. There were 29 cohort and 11 case-control studies in the descriptive review. The most commonly reported markers were PAPP-A and free β-hCG, which were reported in 28 and 26 studies, respectively. The studies that reported effect sizes for PAPP-A and free β-hCG were not statistically significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A decrease in PAPP-A and an increase in total hCG was consistently reported among the included studies. However, owing to the variability in the levels of the other maternal serum screening markers reported and the inability to conduct a meta-analysis, we were unable to generalize about the differences between prenatal screening results in the IVF population.
authors.affiliation: School of Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; BORN Ontario, CHEO Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: alane098@uottawa.ca.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanes
authors.affiliation: BORN Ontario, CHEO Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Tianhua
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: BORN Ontario, CHEO Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; CHEO Research Institute, Centre for Practice-Changing Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Ann E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Sprague
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Ottawa Fertility Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leader
authors.affiliation: School of Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.affiliation: BORN Ontario, CHEO Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Center for Practice-Changing Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; CHEO Research Institute, Centre for Practice-Changing Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000097:blood*; D025063:Chromosome Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics; D004964:Estriol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D007265:Inhibins / Q000097:blood; D048208:Nuchal Translucency Measurement; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First / Q000097:blood; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: C097353:AFP protein, human; D015415:Biomarkers; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; C422362:inhibin A; D007265:Inhibins; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A; C579283:PAPPA protein, human; D004964:Estriol
keywords: In vitro fertilization; maternal serum screening markers; systematic review