Maternal serum markers in second-trimester oligohydramnios |
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| Authors: | Frans J Los PhD Adriana M Hagenaars Titia E Cohen-Overbeek Hendrik W P Quartero |
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| Institution: | 1. Unit of Teratology, Endocrinology and Perinatal Screening, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Bilthoven, The Netherlands;2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Dijkzigt, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | The levels of the maternal serum markers alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), and unconjugated oestriol (uE3) in 35 pregnant women with early second-trimester oligohydramnios differed from those in a reference population of 1699 singleton pregnancies. Maternal serum AFP levels above the 95th centile of the population distribution were observed in 80 per cent (16/20) of oligohydramnios cases with a normal fetus and in only 20 per cent (3/15) of the cases with a fetus displaying urogenital tract malformations. Elevated levels of hCG (above the 95th centile) and decreased levels of uE3 (below the fifth centile) were encountered in 26 per cent (9/35) and 17 per cent (6/35) of the women, irrespective of the fetal condition. The abnormal profile of the serum markers in early second-trimester oligohydramnios resulted in 57 per cent (20 out of 35) of screen-positive cases for either fetal Down's syndrome or neural tube defects, compared with 8·4 per cent (143 out of 1699) in the reference population. |
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| Keywords: | Second-trimester oligohydramnios alpha-fetoprotein human chorionic gonadotrophin unconjugated oestriol maternal serum |
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