Screening maternal serum XXXX levels and human parvovirus antibodies.

@entity8344 @entity1 @entity160
The association between gestational infection with @entity8344 ) and fetal loss has increased interest in this virus and demand for diagnostic testing. However, serological assays for @entity8344 are not yet widely available. Maternal serum @entity160 (MSAFP) testing is commonly used during the second trimester to screen for various fetal defects. We attempted to determine whether an elevated level of MSAFP would be an appropriate indication for @entity8344 -specific tests. Over a 26-month period, MSAFP tests were performed at Michigan State University for 21 392 @entity1 . Sera remaining after that testing were stored frozen. Of these, 22 cases samples--from @entity1 with MSAFP levels greater than 3.0 multiples of the median (MOM) and pregnancies that ended in fetal loss--and 44 matched control samples--from @entity1 with MSAFP levels greater than 0.4 and less than 2.2 MOM and live births at term--were tested for @entity8344 antibodies. None of the 66 samples was IgM positive, while 33 (50 per cent) were IgG positive. The presence of IgG was not significantly associated with case or control status (matched odds ratio = 0.77, 95 per cent confidence interval 0.28-2.11). These findings are consistent with other studies indicating prior infection in approximately half of adults and suggest that elevated screening MSAFP levels, in the absence of other evidence of @entity8344 infection, should not prompt @entity8344 -specific testing.
