Antenatal Screening For Down's Syndrome

The Zero to Finals Medical Revision Podcast

Thomas Watchman

Life Sciences, Education, Medical Finals, Medicine, Surgery, Health & Fitness, Paediatrics, Medical Student, Medical Education, Medical Exams, Medical School, Medical Revision, Science, Learn Medicine, Finals Revision, Obstetrics And Gynaecology

4.8 • 678 Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2022

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode covers Down's syndrome screening during pregnancy. Written notes can be found at https://zerotofinals.com/obgyn/antenatal/downsscreening/ or in the antenatal care section of the Zero to Finals obstetrics and gynaecology book. The audio in the episode was expertly edited by Harry Watchman.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about antinatal screening for Down syndrome.
0:13.9	And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash antinatal or in the antinatal care section of the zero definals obstetrics and
0:24.3	gynecology book. So let's get straight into it. Down syndrome is a condition caused by three copies
0:32.3	of chromosome 21. It's also called trisomy 21. It gives characteristic dysmorphic features and has many
0:42.5	associated conditions and complications. The extent to which a person is affected and the related
0:49.0	conditions vary between individuals. All women are offered screening for Down syndrome during pregnancy,
0:58.0	and the purpose of the screening test is to decide which women should receive more invasive tests
1:03.9	to establish a definitive diagnosis. It's the choice of the woman whether to go ahead with screening or not.
1:12.9	The screening tests involve taking measurements from the fetus using ultrasound,
1:18.9	combining those measurements with the mother's age and blood results,
1:22.8	and providing an indication of the risk of down syndrome.
1:30.8	Older mothers have a higher risk of Down syndrome.
1:39.0	Let's start by talking about the combined test. The combined test is the first line and the most accurate screening test. It's performed between 11 and 14 weeks gestation and involves combining results from
1:47.2	ultrasound and the maternal blood tests. An ultrasound scan is used to measure the nukal
1:54.3	translucency, which is the thickness of the back of the neck of the fetus.
2:06.6	Down syndrome is one cause of a nucal thickness greater than 6mm.
2:16.4	The maternal blood tests that are taken are beta-human charyonic gonadotrophin or beta-hcg.
2:21.6	A higher result of beta-H-Cg indicates a greater risk of down syndrome and pregnancy associated plasma protein a or papa and a lower result indicates a greater risk of
2:32.3	down syndrome next let's talk about the triple test the result indicates a greater risk of Down syndrome.
2:37.5	Next, let's talk about the triple test.
2:45.1	The triple test is performed between 14 and 20 weeks gestation if it's too late to have the combined test.
2:47.4	The triple test only involves maternal blood tests, measuring the beta-hcg result and a higher
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