Volume 17, Issue 6 p. 545-549
Original Paper

THE ROLE OF REDUCED EAR SIZE IN THE PRENATAL DETECTION OF CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES

TAKASHI SHIMIZU

TAKASHI SHIMIZU

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ottawa General Hospital, Ottawa, Canada

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LYNN SALVADOR

LYNN SALVADOR

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ottawa General Hospital, Ottawa, Canada

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RHIA HUGHES-BENZIE

RHIA HUGHES-BENZIE

Department of Genetics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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LAURA DAWSON

LAURA DAWSON

Department of Genetics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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CARL NIMROD

CARL NIMROD

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ottawa General Hospital, Ottawa, Canada

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JUDITH ALLANSON

Corresponding Author

JUDITH ALLANSON

Department of Genetics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Department of Genetics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L1, CanadaSearch for more papers by this author

Abstract

A prospective ultrasound study was performed between 18 and 38 weeks' gestation on 29 fetuses in a high-risk population, defined by the presence of structural anomalies, in order to investigate the usefulness of fetal ear measurements in the prenatal prediction of chromosomal abnormality. The prevalence of abnormal chromosomes was 34 per cent. The sensitivity (SE), specificity (SC), positive predictive values (PPV), and negative predictive values (NPV) of ear length for the detection of chromosomal abnormality were 80, 84·2, 72·7 and 88·9 per cent. The SE, SC, PPV, and NPV of ear width were 40, 94·7, 80 and 75 per cent. Fetal ear measurements may be a useful adjunct to the various ultrasound parameters in the prenatal detection of chromosome abnormality in a high-risk population of fetuses with structural anomaly(ies). © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.