Can someone explain NT tests?!

[Bol87]

I got my NT test results back today and everything is marked as lower risk which is obviously a relief..

But what does it all mean?!

I got HCGb levels as 3.67
PAPP-A as 0.89

What are these? And what’s the kinda average range? It’d be helpful if they explained on the letter! I guess most people just think low risk, fine. But I’ve always been more curious by the whole process!

Is HCGb the same thing as HCG? I’ve always been curious by my HCG levels as I have Hyperemesis and wondered if my hormones were horribly high!

Thank you in advance

PAPP-A is a growth hormone. I believe that bHCG (beta HCG) is a form/part of the HCG hormone (I am not scientific minded enough to understand/explain any better!)

The figures that you are given are expressed as MoM (Multiples of Median) which means how many times the average your results are. So a completely average result would be 1.

This means that your bHCG levels are 3-4 times “average” (which may be linked to your HG) and your PAPP-A is slightly lower than average (89% of average).

Usually in Down’s Syndrome, bHCG is high and PAPP-A is low, whilst in Patau’s and Edwards’ syndromes, both results are low. That’s what the screening looks at, along with NT measurement, in terms of deciding an odds ratio.

I should add that I had very high bHCG (around 4) and I was very sick at the time (not HG though, I can’t imagine how you must feel) but it did start to feel better soon after as the bHCG levels started to drop (as they do from around 12 weeks), so hope there’s an improvement for you soon!

Thank you! That’s so helpful! Makes sense.. I did a bit of googling of people’s results and the 3.6 HCGb does seem higher than usual but not high risk. I guess it may account for the HG!

I’m praying my flipping HCG levels fall soon, it’s been a long, very tough few months. I’m better than I was but thanks to medication .. 😩

They look at all of the results together in some sort of algorithm when deciding what is low/high risk so there isn’t really a high/low risk level for the individual results.

I did end up with a high risk result (1:72) with bHCG of 4, PAPP-A of 0.6 and NT of 2.

I had the NIPT and it came back “highly unlikely” for all of the Trisomies.