interpreting triple test

[lucy123]

Midwives and Spanish speakers! I have another whatever does this test result mean in English question!

This time its for a friend who has just had her triple test results. The paper says that the "double" test is positive, but the "triple" test negative (I think it was that way round).

It goes on to say that there is no risk of spina bifida, no risk of "trisomnia 22", but a 1:300 risk of "trisomnia 18" (again I could have those the wrong way round).

Now it sounds to me like that's nothing to worry about and certainly it's not worth having amnioscentesis, but does anyone know what trisomnia 18/22 are?

Go to

www.trisomy.org/html/trisomy_18_facts.htm

For information on trisomy 18

and

www.nt.net/~a815/mosaict22.htm

For trisomy 22. Remember that the severity of the effect on the baby will vary from child to child.

HTH

Trisomy 18, in all honesty, is not really compatible with survival. It's very rare for babies to survive past their first year and when they do it's usually because they don't have trisomy 18 in all their cells (called mosaicism, which is rare). I've never come across trisomy 22 being tested for before; again, it's very rare for such babies to survive. I would have thought it's much more liekly to be trisomy 21 that's really being tested for, as this is the other name for Down's syndrome.
Hope that helps!

Thanks ladies!

It was indeed Trisomy 21 (not 22 or 18) that was the risk - but 1 in 300 is low enough. My memory is going!

I did have no idea there were so many syndromes being tested for though. It's fascinating (in a morbid kind of way).