Skip to main content
. 2017 Mar 15;2017(3):CD012599. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012599

Goh 1996.

Clinical features and settings Routine screening
Participants 11,964 participants
Singapore ‐ University Hospital
1989 to 1992
Pregnant women
Singleton pregnancies
Median maternal age 35 years (mean 33 years)
12‐22 weeks' gestation
Study design Cohort
Target condition and reference standard(s) Down's syndrome: 34 cases
Reference standards: karyotyping or follow‐up to birth
Index and comparator tests Maternal age
First trimester and second trimester AFP and hCG (EIA method, kits from Abbot Laboratory, USA) and uE3 (In‐house indirect, extraction radioimmunoassay)
Risk cut‐points of 1:250 and 1:384
Follow‐up No details of methods of follow‐up
Aim of study To appraise the potential effectiveness of implementing a prenatal screening programme on a local population in Singapore
Test characteristics  
Reference standard used  
Notes  
Table of Methodological Quality
Item Authors' judgement Description
Representative spectrum? 
 All tests Yes Routine screening of typical pregnant population
Acceptable reference standard? 
 All tests Yes Karyotyping or follow‐up to birth
Partial verification avoided? 
 All tests Unclear Unclear if all women received a reference standard
Differential verification avoided? 
 All tests No Choice of reference standard depended on index test results
Incorporation avoided? 
 All tests Yes Reference standard was independent of the index test
Reference standard results blinded? 
 All tests No Reference standard interpreted with knowledge of index test results
Index test results blinded? 
 All tests Yes Index test interpreted without knowledge of reference standard results
Relevant clinical information? 
 All tests Yes Information available as would be in standard clinical practice
Uninterpretable results reported? 
 All tests No No details given for test failures/uninterpretable measurements
Withdrawals explained? 
 All tests No No details of withdrawals given