Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2001 Apr;18(4):226-9.
doi: 10.1023/a:1009455912670.

Triple-test screening in in vitro fertilization pregnancies

I Bar-Hava  1 , M Yitzhak, H Krissi, M Shohat, J Shalev, B Czitron, Z Ben-Rafael, R Orvieto
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Triple-test screening in in vitro fertilization pregnancies

I Bar-Hava et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2001 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: To determine whether the results of triple-test analysis differ between spontaneous and IVF pregnancies.

Methods: The study population consisted of 140 women with singleton pregnancies, 70 by IVF, and 70 by spontaneous conception. The groups were matched for maternal age, gestational week, and laboratory batch. The levels of all triple-test markers--alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), and unconjugated estriol (u-E3)--were compared between the groups.

Results: Significantly higher HCG levels were detected in the patients with IVF pregnancies than in the control group (1.31 +/- 0.8 vs. 0.95 +/- 0.5 multiple of the medians, respectively, (p < 0.006), but there were no significant differences in AFP or u-E3 levels. Overall, 18.5% of the IVF group were found to be screen-positive as compared with 11.4% of the control group (difference not statistically significant). Only 8 IVF pregnancies (11.4%) reached the lowest calculated risk possible (1:9999) compared with 17 (24.2%) in the control group (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Our findings support previous data demonstrating elevated maternal serum HCG in IVF patients in comparison with spontaneous ones.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Hay DL. Placental histology and the production of human choriogonadotropin and its subunits in pregnancy. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1988;95:1268–1275. - PubMed
    1. Seppala M, Ruoslahit E. Alpha-fetoprotein: Physiology and pathology during pregnancy and application to antenatal diagnosis. J Perinat Med. 1973;1:104–108. - PubMed
    1. Cuckle HS, Wald NJ, Thompson S. Estimating a woman's risk for having a pregnancy associated with Down syndrome using her age and serum alpha-fetoprotein level. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1987;94:387–402. - PubMed
    1. Wald NJ, Cuckle HS, Densem JW, Nanchah K, Royston P, Chard T. Maternal serum screening for Down's syndrome in early pregnancy. Br Med J. 1988;297:883–887. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Canick JA, Shanininian KA, Haning RV, Hackett R. Maternal serum screening in singleton in vitro fertilization pregnancies. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1993;170:349.

Publication types