Maternal serum second trimester AFP and hCG in pregnancies with placenta previa

This study was undertaken to investigate the association between placenta p revia and Down syndrome screening analytes-alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and hCG- during the second trimester. Measurements of maternal serum AFP and hCG con centrations were retrospectively analysed in relation to placenta previa in a cohort of 46 consecutive singleton pregnancies affected by placenta prev ia from January 1993 through December 1997 at the University Hospital of Ku opio, Finland, and then compared with those in healthy singleton control pr egnancies (N = 9560) from the same clinic over the same period of time. Geo metric means of maternal serum AFP and hCG concentrations in pregnancies wi th placenta previa were 1.13 and 0.85 multiples of the median (MoM), respec tively. The mean maternal age was higher in the subjects than in the contro ls (30.9 years compared with 28.8 years) (p < 0.01). In relation to Down sy ndrome risk assessment, the pattern of the two markers together with matern al age indicated high risk as often in the study subjects as in the control s. Even though the maternal serum AFP and hCG differences were not statisti cally significant, they may be of some clinical importance, and further stu dies are needed to evaluate whether placental site should be taken into acc ount in maternal serum screening. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd .