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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
State of the Art Cranial Ultrasound Imaging in Neonates
Published on: February 2, 2015
Association of ultrasound findings with decision to continue Down syndrome pregnancies
Sandy Perry1, Angela L Woodall, Eva K Pressman
1Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
Objective:
To evaluate the association of ultrasound findings and other factors with the decision to terminate trisomy-21-affected pregnancies.
Methods:
We performed a retrospective analysis of trisomy-21-affected pregnancies diagnosed prior to 24 weeks' gestation. Data were collected on maternal age, indications for prenatal diagnosis, gestational age at diagnosis, marital status, race, parity and ultrasound findings. Logistic regression, chi(2), t test and Fishers exact test were used for statistical analysis.
Results:
Fifty-nine pregnancies were identified with a termination rate of 72.9%. Termination rates were significantly lower in patients with major (50%) or minor (64%) ultrasound abnormalities than in patients with normal ultrasound exams (92%), p = 0.026 and 0.022, respectively. Patients who chose terminations were older (36.1 vs. 32.3), but this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.059).
Conclusion:
Patients with abnormal ultrasound results were more likely to continue a trisomy 21 pregnancy.
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