The usefulness of fetal nuchal thickness as a technique to diagnose Down syndrome in obstetric ultrasound is overstated, according to a piece published in Ultrasound, the Journal of the British Medical Ultrasound Society.
In his article, Dr. Hylton Meire, a retired radiologist, concluded that there was no valid data showing any population benefit from an 18- to 20-week scan. He also said that the value of nuchal thickness measurement has probably been overstated and the technique has not been subjected to valid scientific and statistical scrutiny (Ultrasound, August 2007, Vol. 15:3, pp. 177-184).
An ultrasound nuchal translucency thickness scan is performed between 11 and 13 weeks of pregnancy, during which the fluid at the back of the baby's neck is measured. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average.
Until 2000, Meire was a consultant radiologist in ultrasound services at King's College Hospital in London and the director of ultrasound at the London-based Portland Hospital for Women and Children.
The full text of his opinion piece can be accessed by clicking here.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
August 16, 2007
Related Reading
First trimester sonography better than later for detection of Down syndrome, December 20, 2002
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