Outcome of fetuses with increased nuchal translucency

Recent reports on nuchal translucency screening in unselected patient popul ations show results that are comparable with those reported by the thus far largest series on screening for Down's syndrome based on maternal age acid nuchal translucency measurement. Much interest is focused on the prognosti c value of increased nuchal translucency in fetuses with normal chromosomes . Increased nuchal translucency is regarded as a clear sign of declining fe tal health, which can be associated with fetal demise, structural anomalies , rare genetic syndromes, and in particular congenital heart defects. A cle ar association is demonstrated between nuchal translucency above the 99th c entile and congenital cardiac defects, Such a finding should prompt special ized echocardiography. However, on the whole the sensitivity of nuchal tran slucency screening is too low to consider this as the sole criterion to scr een for critical heart defects, Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 13:169-174. (C) 20 01 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.