PREGNANCY OUTCOMES FOLLOWING FALSE-POSITIVE MULTIPLE MARKER SCREENING-TESTS

Pregnancy outcomes in women with a False-positive midtrimester multipl e marker screening test (MMST) were reviewed. A genetic database was u sed to identify all women greater than or equal to age 30 who had a MM ST at 15-20 weeks of gestation, a targeted ultrasound, and amniocentes is, and complete pregnancy outcome data. All patients with an abnormal fetal ultrasound (US) or karyotype were excluded. The incidence of ad verse outcomes (defined as fetal death, preterm delivery, or a birth w eight less than the 10th percentile for gestational age), in those wom en with a positive MMST (risk of Down's syndrome greater than or equal to 1:190) was compared to the incidence of adverse outcomes in contro l women with negative MMST. Chi-square analysis and Fisher's exact tes ts were used for comparisons as appropriate. Complete data was availab le from 1135 women. Seventy-seven percent were over age 35. Two hundre d and forty-six women (22%) had a positive multiple marker test. No si gnificant differences in outcomes were discovered after comparisons to controls: fetal death 1 oi 246 (0.4%) versus 12 of 889 (1.3%), p = 0. 32; preterm delivery 32 of 246 (13.0%) versus 147 of 889 (16.5%), p = 0.83. Our data suggest that women greater than or equal to age 30 with a false-positive MMST and a normal midtrimester obstetrical sonogram are not at an increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes in later g estation.