NT Screening and what it stands for!

Hi peeps! Ok, with reference to my post here, i finally had the "kerajinan" untuk menggoogle what NT Screening is all about.

Ampun ye... nampak sgt malas nak buat research sbb bz benda lain.  Sebab tu la x leh jadi doctor. Hehe. Anyway, this is what NT Screening stands for!!

NT Screening = Nuchal Translucency screening

Ok, bukan new trimester screening or next trimester screening seperti yang di assumed kat in my previous post. hehehehe...

Here are the summarisation of the findings from various sites for my better understanding and knowledge.  Some sites use more layman terms than some sites. so i just take apa yg i faham.  too much medical terms, pening gue! Yelah, we are not all doctors here and nak kena paham all those medical terms kan.. huhu.

• The nuchal translucency screening test is among the newest of the many first-trimester screening tests now being offered to pregnant women. The nuchal translucency (NT) screening test — basically a specialized ultrasound — lets you know if you're at an increased risk for having a baby with a chromosomal problem such as Down syndrome. 

• The test focuses on a small, clear space in the tissue at the back of your growing baby's neck called the nuchal fold. Experts have found that this spot tends to accumulate fluid and, as a result, expand in size in babies who have genetic abnormalities like Down syndrome (caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21, one of the 23 pairs of chromosomes that contain our genetic code), trisomy 18 (an extra copy of chromosome 18), and trisomy 13 (an extra number 13 chromosome). 

• Nuchal translucency screening — which must be performed between 11 to 14 weeks of pregnancy (after that, the tissue gets so thick that it is no longer translucent, rendering the test inconclusive) — is done with a highly sensitive ultrasound machine (but like a regular sonogram, is considered safe). 

• A sonographer will first measure your baby from crown to rump, to confirm his or her gestational age, before zooming in on the nuchal fold and measuring its thickness on the screen. That value, plus the mother's age and the baby's gestational age, will be entered into a formula that calculates the probability of a chromosomal abnormality. 

• NT measurements are not conclusive, so the NT screening test can't tell you for sure whether your child has a chromosomal disorder, but it can be combined with other data (from blood tests and from population studies) to provide a statistic about the likelihood of such a disorder. 

• What is a normal measurement? An NT of less than 3.5mm is considered normal when your baby measures between 45mm and 84mm. The NT normally grows in proportion with your baby.

 This image shows a baby with a normal NT of 1.3mm. This baby will be low risk. However, an increased NT does not mean there is definitely a problem. Some babies without Down's have increased fluid too.

This image shows a baby with an NT of 2.9mm, which is within the limit of normal range. Nine out of 10 babies with a measurement between 2.5mm and 3.5mm will be completely normal.

As the NT increases, so does the risk of Down's and other chromosomal abnormalities. The baby in this imagehas an NT of 6mm and has a high risk of Down's, as well as other chromosomal abnormalities and heart problems. Fortunately, not many babies have as much fluid as this.

Ok peeps! Hope this is beneficial to all... it is definitely to me! buat je screening tapi dunno for what.. hihihi. so now bila tgk balik my report baru la 99% faham the terms and measurement. :))

Till then,

xoxo

NAZ