Journal of Medical Screening > Volume 16, Number 1 > Pp. 7-10

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Original Articles

Antenatal screening for Down's syndrome using the Integrated test at two London hospitals

N J Wald, Professor  , Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK

W J Huttly, Antenatal screening manager , Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK

K W Murphy, Consultant , St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK

K Ali, Midwifery manager , St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK

J P Bestwick, Statistician , Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK

C H Rodeck, Professor , University College Hospital, London, UK

Correspondence to: NJ Wald, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London; n.j.wald{at}qmul.ac.uk

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We carried out an audit of antenatal screening for Down's syndrome using the Integrated test (which provides a single screening result from information collected in the late first and early second trimesters of pregnancy) which was introduced into routine antenatal care at two London hospitals, University College Hospital (UCH) and St Mary's Hospital, in 2003–4. The audit was based on 15,888 women who accepted screening and booked in the first trimester. The Down's syndrome detection rate was 87% (95% confidence interval [CI], 74–95) consistent with an expected detection rate of 89% based on applying the estimates of screening performance of the Serum, Urine and Ultrasound Screening Study (SURUSS) to the maternal age distribution of women who were screened at UCH and St Mary's. The observed false-positive rate was 2.1% (95% CI, 1.9–2.3), compared with an expected of 2.5% for women of the same age. An audit trail (conducted at UCH) indicated that 98% (10,746/10,961) of women accepted integrated screening (2% having a first trimester test) and of these, 94% (10,116) completed both stages of the test. The audit demonstrated that it is feasible to conduct integrated screening within the NHS with a high acceptance rate and a screening performance consistent with that determined from previous research studies.

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