To introduce a different perspective from Vancouver, in British
Columbia:
We use triple screening. In adition to the improved detection (in our
two year study of 10,000 patients we detected 75% of the DS
pregnancies), by including estriol we can predict increased risk of
trisomy 18, digynic triploidy, and have identified other genetic
disorders such as STS deficiency which may be part isolated or a marker
for an X-linked contigous gene sydrome, and SLO sydrome. Since much of
the cost of screening is related to obtaining, shipping and processing
the specimen and reporting the results, the increased cost of adding
the estriol reagents in our system is a small fraction of the overall
cost per specimen.
Gillian Lockitch, MBChB,MD, FRCPC
Children's and Women's Health Centre of BC.
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