Elevated Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Caused by Midtrimester Amniocentesis

Blood Contamination of Amniotic Fluid After Amniocentesis in Relation to Placental Location

“…While the issue of feto-maternal transfusion has been addressed in several studies (Harrison et al, 1975;Mennuti et aL, 1980Mennuti et aL, , 1983Lenke et a1.,1985;Thomsen et aL, 1983), the risk of materno-fetal blood contamination has yet to be thoroughly evaluated. The possibility of a maternal bloodborne infection being transmitted to the fetus at the time of amniocentesis must be considered when scheduling a patient for this procedure, in particular when the indication for amniocentesis is the diagnosis of a possible fetal infection in the presence of a maternal infection (Giorlandino et al, 1994a).…”

“…Several studies have addressed the importance of placental location in feto-maternal haemorrhage (Mennuti et al, 1980(Mennuti et al, , 1983Thomsen et al, 1983;Lenke et al, 1985) but data on materno-fetal contamination and the subsequent risk of fetal infection are lacking.…”

Cell-free Fetal DNA in Maternal Circulation after Amniocentesis

“…On the basis of our data, kidney function seems to contribute to the elimination of troponins. After amniocentesis, 5-20% of patients have evidence of fetal-maternal hemorrhage as indicated by increases in maternal serum ␣-fetoprotein (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) or by the BetkeKleihauer test (6 -8 ). The Betke-Kleihauer test can differentiate fetal from maternal erythrocytes by the relative resistance of hemoglobin F-containing cells to acid elution, and it is the most popular method of diagnosing and assessing the severity of fetal-maternal hemorrhage (9 ).…”

“…Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has revealed two common TC isotypes, M and X, and two rare variants, S and F (3,4 ), that may influence the cellular availability of vitamin B 12 (5,6 ). The phenotypic variability is a multifactorial phenomenon that probably includes cell-type-specific processing of translated TC (5 ), but the substitution of proline (P) for arginine (R) at codon 259 of the TC gene is the major determinant of the TC variability, at least in Caucasians (5,7 ), and affects TC concentrations Clinical Chemistry 49, No. 7,2003 …”

Detection and Measurement of Fetomaternal Hemorrhage following Diagnostic Cordocentesis

“…Fetomaternal hemorrhage (FMH) has been investigated after amniocentesis [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9], fetoscopy and placentesis [10,11] and also after cordocentesis [12][13][14]. Fetomaternal bleeding following fetal sampling techniques is not rare and has been currently detected by either maternal serum ·-fetoprotein measurement, or the Kleihauer-Betke staining technique.…”