What about Informed Consent in First-Trimester Ultrasound Screening for Down Syndrome?
- 1 February 2008
- journal article
- Published by S. Karger AG in Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy
- Vol. 23 (3) , 173-184
- https://doi.org/10.1159/000116738
Abstract
We evaluate the level of information and informed consent given for the screening of Down syndrome (DS) before the first-trimester ultrasound scan. We evaluate the nature of the medical information given and the patient's understanding. This makes it possible to analyze the existence of the necessary elements (level of information and consent) for the patients to exercise their autonomy as to their decision making during the first-trimester ultrasound scan. A total of 350 patients were recruited prospectively in 2 hospitals. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to the results of maternal serum screening for DS. Group 1: Patients at high risk of having a child with DS with the second-trimester maternal serum screening (MSS) (risk >1/250). Group 2: Patients having a low risk (risk or =10). The negative responses to the various questions calls into question the legitimacy of consent for first-trimester ultrasound scans, particularly as concerns the measurement of nucal translucency.Keywords
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