Prenatal screening for Down's syndrome: editorial responsibilities

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 372; no. 9652; pp. 1789 - 1791
• Main Authors: Boys, Carol, Cunningham, Cliff, McKenna, Dawn, Robertson, Penny, Weeks, Daniel J, Wishart, Jennifer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 22.11.2008; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Down syndrome; Down Syndrome - diagnosis; Editorial Policies; Editorials; False Positive Reactions; Female; Humans; Internal Medicine; Mass Media; Peer review; Peer Review, Research - methods; Pregnancy; Risk factors; Ultrasonography, Prenatal - adverse effects; Ultrasonography, Prenatal - statistics & numerical data; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61742-0

On Sept 16, UK television's Channel 4 News featured an "exclusive" and "shocking" report that, after positive serum or ultrasound screening for Down's syndrome, diagnostic testing by amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling results in two healthy babies being miscarried for every three Down's syndrome births prevented.1 The findings (published early online to coincide with the broadcast) are from an editorial by Frank Buckley and Sue Buckley, Chief Executive and Chief Scientist of Down Syndrome Education International (DSEI), respectively, in Down Syndrome Research and Practice.2 In this editorial, data from the National Down's Syndrome Cytogenetic Register (NDSCR)3 on prenatal and postnatal diagnoses of Down's syndrome and on terminations were analysed; fetal losses in pregnancies unaffected by Down's syndrome were estimated by statistical modelling because national data on losses in non-affected pregnancies were not available.