Can reliable Downs syndrome detection rates be determined from prenatal screening intervention trials?
GE Palomaki, LM Neveux, and JE Haddow. J Med Screen 1996 3: 12-17. OBJECTIVES – To develop a standardised approach for analysing Down’s syndrome screening performance in clinical practice and to apply it to published intervention trials in order to estimate detection and false positive rates more accurately. METHODS – Peer reviewed intervention trials, grouped by specific combination of analytes, were reanalysed. Revised detection rates were calculated for each study, taking into account both the high spontaneous loss during the last half of pregnancy and the possible under ascertainment of Down’s syndrome live births not detected by screening. Collective screening performance was estimated, when possible, using a published methodology based on fitting receiver-operator characteristic curves. RESULTS – Sixteen trials were analysed; 11 using three, and five using two, analytes. Collective screening performance for the triple analyte trials was Down’s syndrome detection rates of 57, 64,
Related Questions
- How much do family physicians involve pregnant women in decisions about prenatal screening for Down syndrome?
- do vaccination and prenatal care rates differ between users of private versus public sector care in India?
- Can reliable Downs syndrome detection rates be determined from prenatal screening intervention trials?