First Trimester Screening Service at St Thomas’ Hospital

The Fetal Medicine Unit (FMU) delivers the first trimester screening programme for Down’s (T21), Edwards’ (T18) and Patau’s (T13) syndromes using the combined test as part of the fetal anomaly screening programme (FASP) commissioned by NHS England. The service is delivered using a One Stop Clinic for Assessment of Risk (OSCAR) model: plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and the free beta subunit of human chorionic gonodatropin (FβhCG) are measured using a Brahms Kryptor Plus analyser located in FMU while the patient undergoes the ultrasound scan and the pregnant woman is informed of her risk at the end of the clinic appointment.

The Synnovis Automated Chemistry Department is responsible for providing the analysis of PAPP-A and FβhCG in the FMU at St Thomas’ Hospital.