Preferred Specimen(s) 1.0 mL Serum
Transport Container Plastic screw cap vial
Transport Temperature Refrigerated, stable 7 day’s
Reject Criteria
- Grossly hemolyzed,
- lipemic specimens
Methodology Chemiluminescent Enzyme Immunoassay
Clinical Significance Maternal serum free Beta HCG assessment is reported to have significant utility in first & second trimester prenatal screening for Down syndrome & other chromosomal anomalies. A first trimester combination of maternal age, serum PAPP-A & fetal nuchal translucency (NT) measurements might substantially increase the efficiency of the prenatal screening compared to second trimester screening; using this approach, various investigator have reported detection rates for Down syndrome of 85 to 90 percent at a 5% false positive rate.