{"title":"Biochemical-sonographic Correlations in First-trimester Screening for Foetal Aneuploidy: A Cross-sectional Study from Eastern India.","authors":"Kirti Rani, Jiut Ram Keshari, Kumar Harsheet Raj, Rekha Kumari, Dipali Prasad, Pankaj Prabhakar","doi":"10.4103/aam.aam_887_26","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Aneuploidy screening constitutes an essential component of routine prenatal care worldwide, which is done by ultrasonography during the first trimester. Moreover, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) reflect placental function, which serve as important biochemical markers for aneuploidy risk assessment.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>The present study investigated the correlation between maternal serum PAPP-A and free β-hCG levels with first-trimester ultrasound screening markers, i.e. nuchal translucency (NT) thickness and nasal bone (NB) for detecting fetal aneuploidy.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>This was a cross-sectional observational study, which enrolled 139 women with singleton pregnancies at 11-14 weeks of gestation. First-trimester ultrasonography was performed by an experienced doctor, and maternal serum PAPP-A and free β-hCG were also measured. Correlation investigation was done by Spearman's correlation coefficient, while associations were done by Fisher's exact test.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A significant positive correlation was observed between PAPP-A gestational age and maternal body mass index. Further, there were a strong negative correlation of NT thickness with PAPP-A multiples of the median (MoM) (P < 0.001) and a strong positive correlation with β-hCG MoM (P < 0.001). The fetal NB was absent in seven (5.0%) pregnancies, of which three were confirmed to have chromosomal abnormalities by noninvasive prenatal testing. Absent NB demonstrated 42.9% sensitivity and 100% specificity, while β-hCG levels were significantly higher in NB-negative pregnancies (P < 0.01).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The combined assessment of PAPP-A, free β-hCG, NT thickness, and fetal NB could improve the performance of first-trimester screening for fetal aneuploidy, enabling more accurate early prenatal risk stratification and facilitating timely clinical decision-making.</p>","PeriodicalId":7938,"journal":{"name":"Annals of African Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.0000,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of African Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4103/aam.aam_887_26","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Aneuploidy screening constitutes an essential component of routine prenatal care worldwide, which is done by ultrasonography during the first trimester. Moreover, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) reflect placental function, which serve as important biochemical markers for aneuploidy risk assessment.
Aim: The present study investigated the correlation between maternal serum PAPP-A and free β-hCG levels with first-trimester ultrasound screening markers, i.e. nuchal translucency (NT) thickness and nasal bone (NB) for detecting fetal aneuploidy.
Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study, which enrolled 139 women with singleton pregnancies at 11-14 weeks of gestation. First-trimester ultrasonography was performed by an experienced doctor, and maternal serum PAPP-A and free β-hCG were also measured. Correlation investigation was done by Spearman's correlation coefficient, while associations were done by Fisher's exact test.
Results: A significant positive correlation was observed between PAPP-A gestational age and maternal body mass index. Further, there were a strong negative correlation of NT thickness with PAPP-A multiples of the median (MoM) (P < 0.001) and a strong positive correlation with β-hCG MoM (P < 0.001). The fetal NB was absent in seven (5.0%) pregnancies, of which three were confirmed to have chromosomal abnormalities by noninvasive prenatal testing. Absent NB demonstrated 42.9% sensitivity and 100% specificity, while β-hCG levels were significantly higher in NB-negative pregnancies (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: The combined assessment of PAPP-A, free β-hCG, NT thickness, and fetal NB could improve the performance of first-trimester screening for fetal aneuploidy, enabling more accurate early prenatal risk stratification and facilitating timely clinical decision-making.
期刊介绍：
The Annals of African Medicine is published by the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria and the Annals of African Medicine Society. The Journal is intended to serve as a medium for the publication of research findings in the broad field of Medicine in Africa and other developing countries, and elsewhere which have relevance to Africa. It will serve as a source of information on the state of the art of Medicine in Africa, for continuing education for doctors in Africa and other developing countries, and also for the publication of meetings and conferences. The journal will publish articles I any field of Medicine and other fields which have relevance or implications for Medicine.
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