Clinical implications of nuchal translucency.
- Author:
Suk Joo CHOI
1
Author Information
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords: Nuchal translucency; fetal aneuploidy; congenital anomaly
- MeSH: Aneuploidy; Down Syndrome; Fetal Death; Fetus; Heart Defects, Congenital; Neck; Nuchal Translucency Measurement; Pregnancy; Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A; Risk Assessment; Skin
- From:Korean Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2010;53(1):1-14
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
- Abstract: Fetal nuchal translucency (NT) is an echolucent space between the dorsal edge of soft tissue of the fetal neck and the linear echo of the skin observed in a midsagittal image measured at 11 to 13(+6) weeks of gestation. Increased NT (>95 percentile) is highly associated with fetal aneuploidy and congenital structural anomalies including congenital heart defects. In combination with maternal serum PAPP-A and free beta-hCG, increased NT has been demonstrated to provide efficient Down syndrome risk assessment, with a detection rate of 80-87% (5% false-positive rate), and it also allows earlier diagnosis of fetal aneuploidy. Even in the absence of aneuploidy, increased NT is still associated with an increase in adverse perinatal outcome including abortion, fetal death and a variety of fetal malformations. This paper will review the mechanism of increased NT, correct measurement of NT, and recent evidences for interpretation and management for the fetuses with increased NT.
