Maternal serum screening for Down syndrome in pregnancies conceived by intra-uterine insemination

Te Yao Hsu*, Chia Yu Ou, Jenn Jeih Hsu, Fu Tsai Kung, Shiuh-Yang Chang, Yung Kuei Soong

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

16 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to assess the influence of intra-uterine insemination (IUI) on the results of maternal serum Down syndrome screening. 43 women with IUI pregnancies and 4507 healthy women who conceived were studied. Ovulation in IUI pregnancies was induced by clomiphene and/or human menopausal gonadotrophin (hMG). Maternal serum levels of free β-human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were measured for Down syndrome screening. It was considered screen-positive when the risk of Down syndrome was 1 in 270 or greater in the second trimester. The value of maternal serum AFP was significantly lower in the IUI group (median = 0.760 MoM) than in the control group (median = 1.050 MoM). However, the value of free β-hCG was not significantly different between the two groups. The positive rate of maternal serum Down syndrome in IUI pregnancies was similar to that of the control group. Our results indicate that IUI pregnancy may be associated with a lower level of AFP, although the mechanism for this difference remains unknown.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1012-1014
Number of pages3
JournalPrenatal Diagnosis
Volume19
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 1999
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Alpha-fetoprotein
  • Down syndrome
  • Human chorionic gonadotrophin
  • Intra-uterine insemination

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