you can find out up to 90% of cases thus decreasing the number of amniocentesis and its risks arising

PAMPLONA, 2 ( EUROPA PRESS)

Navarro health service will introduce a new programme of prenatal screening for Down syndrome that will allow detect between 80 and 90 percent of cases during gestation in the coming weeks.

In this way improves the capacity of prenatal detection of this fetal and thereby is decreased considerably the number of amniocentesis and its dangers, as he explained the Navarra Government said in a statement.

This new screening programme has been presented at the Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra by the Director-general of health, Cristina Ibarrola; the Assistant Medical Director of the CHN, Maria Jesus Calvo; and the heads of service of medical genetics and the service of obstetrics and Gynaecology of the CHN, María Antonia Ramos and Victoria Goñi, respectively.

From its implementation, all pregnant navarras wishing to do, regardless of age, may know your risk specific to Down’s syndrome based on their personal characteristics (age or past diseases) on the one hand and on the other in its gestation (measured fold translucency and levels of PAPP-A protein in the first quarter, and determination of the alfa-feto – protein and chorionic gonadotropin in the latter).

If the final risk estimate is higher than 1: 250 (high risk pregnancy) you will be offered the realization of an amniocentesis during the week 15-17. On the other hand, low-risk pregnancies will continue his control of the development of the fetus through ultrasound for second quarter (18-20 weeks).

Today, more than 65% of pregnant women requested voluntarily a biochemist screening test, while an additional 10% directly opt for amniocentesis. In fact, in recent years has been in Navarra near 800 amniocentesis per year, of which 75 per cent correspond to women with indication of maternal age exceeding 35 years and 22% in gestations with positive screening or fetal defects detected by ultrasound test.

Background

in 1995 established bases and infrastructure necessary for the development of a specific and centralized project of prenatal diagnosis of cromosomopatías at regional level, with two indications of amniocentesis for Down syndrome: the maternal age greater than or equal to 35 years with date last rule and the positive outcome of the biochemical screening in maternal serum test.

Down syndrome screening programme launched in Navarra as a pilot project in 1994, and was later extended to the community of Navarre. This settled three nodes of extraction of samples of blood (Estella, Tudela and Pamplona), a laboratory for processing (clinical analysis of the old Virgin Road Hospital Laboratory) and a center of global coordination of the programme (the service of genetics of the ancient HVC).

Was a test of screening of second quarter that included the determination of the levels of alfa-feto protein and beta-HCG in maternal serum during the weeks 19-21 of gestation and the estimation of risk combined with the corresponding to the maternal age. The number of Court of risk was established in 1: 270.

In the year 2006, the screening test incorporated measuring nuchal translucency fetal ultrasound during week 10-13 of gestation as additional estimate of risk factor, and was included, in addition, the effect of other modifying factors such as diabetes, type of pregnancy, weight and ethnic.

A specific file of cromosomopatías screening, included in the computerized clinical history of each pregnant woman was designed in order to share and integrate this information.

In her information is collected the ultrasound, biochemistry, genetics and paediatric each gestation. This tab allows, in addition, automatically schedule the date of completion of the screening or amniocentesis, estimate the risk for Down syndrome and other cromosomopatías, specify the relevant particulars in each case and collect the results of amniocentesis and the end of the gestation.