Pregnant women are routinely offered a blood test called a triple
test. This screening
test (not diagnostic) measures the amount of three specific proteins in
a pregnant woman's blood. This test is also known as: Triple
Screen, AFP Plus, Multiple Marker Test, or Prenatal
Risk Profile Test.
This "triple test" is mainly used to identify pregnancies which may
be at increased risk for:
-
Down syndrome
-
Neural tube defects NTD (spina bifida or anencephaly)
-
Other birth defects
Abnormal results must be confirmed by a diagnostic test (amniocentesis)
combined with a high resolution ultrasound performed by an expert in birth
defects and laboratory studies of the amniotic fluid and cells including
chromosome studies.
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