ULTRASOUND SCREENING FOR ANENCEPHALY AT 10-14 WEEKS OF GESTATION

In an ongoing study involving seven hospitals in London and surroundin g areas, 55 237 fetuses were examined by ultrasound at 10-14 weeks of gestation. There were 47 fetuses (1 in 1175) with anencephaly which pr esented with acrania with varying degrees of cerebral degeneration. Th e first audit of results was performed in April 1995. During the first phase of the study 34 830 fetuses were examined and in eight of the 3 1 with anencephaly the diagnosis was not made at the 10-14-week scan. Following the audit, 20 407 fetuses were examined and in all 16 with a nencephaly the diagnosis was made at the 10-14-week scan (p = 0.03). T hese findings demonstrate that anencephaly can be reliably diagnosed a t the routine 10-14-week ultrasound scan, provided a specific search i s made for the sonographic features for this condition.