Prenatal Exam: Quattro Test

The Quattro Test is a screening test used to calculate the probability of Down’s Syndrome, 18 Trisomy, and open neural tube malformations by measuring the four components that come out of the placenta and fetus in the blood of pregnant women.
As the age of pregnant women increases, so does the probability of children being born with 18 Trisomy and Down’s Syndrome.

From the pregnant woman, we will take a small amount of blood and measure the four components (AFP, hCG, uE3, Inhibin A) that are found within.
These are the components produced by the placenta or the fetus during pregnancy.
The value of these components will fluctuate as the pregnancy progresses, but will also increase and decrease by the fetus being subject to the disease of the examination.
To the value of the these four components, pregnant woman’s age, gestational age, adding in the Japanese reference value, whether or not the fetus has a disease, we will calculate the probability of each and every pregnant woman.
As for the Quattro Test, since it is calculated on the probability of each pregnant woman on the basis of specific probability, there is a tendency that the higher the age of the pregnant woman the higher probability of the results of the Quattro Test.

You can see the probability of the target diseases (Down’s Syndrome, 18 Trisomy, Open Neural Tube Malformation) that the fetus is at stake for.
For example if the probability is 1/500, and if you had 500 pregnant women with the same probability of 1/500 we can interpret that one of them is pregnant with a child of the target disease.
In a survey of about 20,000cases, there was a positive results of about 9% and among that group about 2% having Down’s Syndrome.