[Pregnancy termination after prenatal diagnosis--data of the Styrian malformation register (1985-1992)]

3098 embryos, fetuses or newborns with congenital anomalies were registered in the period from 1985 to 1992 by the Styrian Malformation Register (prevalence 2.88%) the common screening tool for prenatal diagnosis is sonography. About 1/2 of all pregnant women aged 35 or more took advantage of karyotyping offered to this group of patients. Altogether 4004 fetal karyotypes were performed, leading to 89 terminations of pregnancy. A total of 181 terminations of pregnancy following prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies were recorded by the Styrian Malformation Register. The annual rate of terminations of pregnancy did not change over the years (5.3-6.7%). About 2/3 of severe congenital anomalies were missed or diagnosed too late in pregnancy. A comparison of our data with those of EUROCAT, the central malformation register of Europe, showed that hydrocephalus was terminated significantly more frequently in the EUROCAT data, but the difference in other congenital anomalies was less marked. It follows that prenatal diagnosis in Austria and all over Europe is subject to equal social demands and medical standards. The study highlights, furthermore, the need for specialist doctors to receive standardized high-quality training in prenatal diagnosis in Austria.