Sonographic identification of Down's syndrome

Echogenic intracardiac focus in 2nd-trimester fetuses with trisomy 21: usefulness as a US marker

PURPOSE

To determine whether there is a relationship between the presence of an echogenic intracardiac focus in 2nd-trimester fetuses and trisomy 21 (Down syndrome).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A complete genetic ultrasonographic (US) scan was obtained in 3,303 consecutive fetuses with an estimated gestational age of 14.0-24.0 weeks (mean +/- SD, 17.1 weeks +/- 1.75). US was performed in a prospective fashion without any knowledge of karyotype and included assessment of any potential echogenic intracardiac focus (ie, calcified papillary muscle). Karyotypes were obtained in all fetuses. Maternal ages ranged from 13.0 to 47.4 years (mean, 35.1 years +/- 5.1). The prevalence of Down syndrome in this population was 1.6% (53 of 3,303 fetuses).

RESULTS

An echogenic intracardiac focus was seen in 147 of the 3,192 karyotypically normal fetuses (4.6%) and 16 of the 53 fetuses with trisomy 21 (30%). The positive predictive value (PPV) of an echogenic intracardiac focus in this high-risk population was 9.8%; sensitivity, 30%; specificity, 95%; likelihood ratio, 6.6; and relative risk (RR), 8.2 (P <.001). For a sonographically isolated echogenic intracardiac focus, the PPV was 3.7%; sensitivity, 19%; specificity, 95%; likelihood ratio, 4.2; and RR, 4.8 (P =.002).

CONCLUSION

A sonographically isolated echogenic intracardiac focus (no other anomalies or markers noted on a complete genetic sonogram) was associated in our high-risk population with a 4.8-fold (95% CI: 1.8, 12.5) increase in RR for trisomy 21 (P =.002).

The "genetic sonogram": comparison of the index scoring system with the age-adjusted US risk assessment

PURPOSE

To compare two ultrasonographic (US) methods for prenatal detection of fetal Down syndrome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Genetic amniocentesis was successfully performed in 3,303 consecutive women with high-risk pregnancies (mean gestational age, 17.1 weeks). All patients underwent a complete "genetic US" examination prospectively. Risk was assessed by using (a) various modifications of the index scoring system (ISS) and (b) the age-adjusted US risk assessment (AAURA).

RESULTS

The prevalence of Down syndrome in this population was 1.6% (53 of 3,303). By using a threshold of at least 2 points to detect trisomy 21, the best ISS had a sensitivity of 45.3%, false-positive rate of 4.9%, likelihood ratio of 9.3, and positive predictive value in the high-risk population in this study of 13.3%. Lowering the threshold to 1 point increased the sensitivity to 60.4% but increased the false-positive rate to 15.8%. Adding points for age increased the sensitivity to 67.9% but increased the false-positive rate to 24.3%. Results of using AAURA to detect trisomy 21 were nearly identical, with a sensitivity of 43.4% and false-positive rate of 4.9% at a 1 in 36 risk threshold and a sensitivity of 69.8% and false-positive rate of 26.1% at a 1 in 200 threshold. Trisomies 18 and 13 were detected with sensitivities of 80.0% and 100.0%, respectively, with either system.

CONCLUSION

The modified ISS and AAURA are equivalent in screening for Down syndrome, with detection of approximately half of all trisomy 21 fetuses at a 5% false-positive rate.

Fetuses with Down syndrome have disproportionately shortened frontal lobe dimensions on ultrasonographic examination

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of our study was to determine whether the frontal lobe is significantly smaller than normal in the Down syndrome fetus in midtrimester.

STUDY DESIGN

Frontothalamic distance, measured from the inner table of the frontal bone to the posterior thalamus, and frontothalamic distance/biparietal diameter ratio were compared in 125 normal and 19 Down syndrome fetuses between 16 and 21 weeks' gestation.

RESULTS

In the Down syndrome group 52% had frontothalamic distance < 10th percentile. When the frontothalamic distance and the frontothalamic distance/biparietal diameter ratio were expressed as multiples of the normal median to eliminate variation caused by gestational age, the mean value of multiples of the median in Down syndrome fetuses was compared with the mean value of multiples of the median in normal fetuses and was found to be significantly smaller (p < 0.0019 and p < 0.0177, respectively). When an observed-to-expected frontothalamic distance ratio of < or = 0.84 is used as a cutoff to screen for Down syndrome, sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive values of 21.2%, 95.2%, and 1.2%, respectively, are achieved in a population with a 1:270 risk.

CONCLUSION

Frontal lobe dimension is significantly shortened in Down syndrome fetuses.

The efficacy of fetal sonographic biometry in Down syndrome screening

Sonographic biometry has been proposed as a second-trimester Down syndrome screening modality. Approaches have relied on the apparent "shortened" femur length of fetuses with Down syndrome. Unfortunately, significant intercenter variation has been reported in the magnitude of this femur length reduction. In an effort to overcome many of these potential biases and better estimate the magnitude of femur length shortening in fetuses with Down syndrome, a retrospective review of femur length differences between 16 Down syndrome and 194 control fetuses was carried out. All scans were performed by one examiner who used the same equipment and measurement technique. A significant reduction in the observed to expected femur length ratio for a given biparietal diameter was identified in the Down versus control fetuses (0.9574 95% confidence interval 0.9197, 0.9952 versus 0.9999 95% confidence interval 0.9913, 1.0086) (p less than 0.008). However, the magnitude of this reduction was not sufficient to permit the use of this sonographic approach as an isolated marker for fetal Down syndrome.