A Comparative Study of Ultrasound Screening and Screening by AFP/HCG in the Detection of Neural Tube Defects, Abdominal Wall Defects and Down Syndrome, 1991

The aim of this project was to study selected Scandinavian University Hospitals ability to detect neural tube defects, abdominal wall defects and Down syndrome prenatally in a low risk population. All pregnant women in Scandinavia are offered routine ultrasound scan in the second trimester. Ultrasound scan can detect abnormalities. Some countries (not Norway) also offer serum screening (AFP/HCG) to pregnant women in order to detect neural tube defects, abdominal wall defects and Down syndrome. The study compared the two methods, (ultrasound scan and serum samples). The serum samples were analyzed by the State Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. All blood sample data were therefore processed in Denmark and are not included in the dataset from the Women's clinic, Trondheim. It is data from the Norwegian part of the study that is prepared and made available by the NSD.