Measurement of nasal bone length at 11–14 weeks of pregnancy and its potential role in Down syndrome risk assessment

Abstract

Absence of the nasal bone can be used as a marker for Down syndrome in the first trimester of pregnancy. Inclusion of the nasal bone in the current first-trimester screening protocol along with nuchal translucency, free beta-hCG and PAPP-A can achieve high detection at a very low false-positive rate. Large datasets are needed to confirm whether the measurement of nasal bone length provides additional benefits beyond the assessment of the presence or absence of the nasal bone.