Amniocentesis Research Paper

Amniocentesis is a relatively safe procedure with minimal risk to the patient. With sterile technique, chorioamnionitis is seen in less than 0.1% of cases[11]. Other infrequent complications include transient vaginal spotting or leakage of amniotic fluid. Patients should be counseled that if leakage occurs, it usually occurs within 48 hours and that fetal survival is greater than 90% in these cases[11].

Pregnancy loss is the most serious and feared risk to an amniocentesis. Generally quoted loss rates are primarily based on 3 main studies in the 1970s that were not randomized[33-35]. Based on these studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) promulgated a loss rate of 0.5% following amniocentesis. Despite the fact that

Due to their nonrandomized nature, many of these studies do not have a control group that would provide a background loss rate. Even in the studies that do have a control group, they are often not appropriately matched in terms of baseline risk factors for the women in each group. Another issue with current literature is that there has not been a standard manner by which to report procedure-related loss rates. Studies to date have used varying definitions of pregnancy loss in terms of cutoffs for gestational age and length of time from procedure to loss. As mentioned earlier, there will likely not be any future randomized controlled trials (RCT) to assess contemporary loss rates. An RCT would require >400,000 patients in each arm to have adequate power to detect a difference of 0.05% in loss rates between those who do and do not undergo amniocentesis[37]. Thus, using large scale, multicenter, prospective trials, such as the FASTER Trial, as a surrogate appears to be the best option. Given it was carried out in multiple centers and that there were no specifications as to the technique, the results are generalizable to the larger “national” community. Given that more recent literature suggests loss rates lower than seen in the 1970s, amniocentesis remains a safe option for genetic testing. We believe it is reasonable to counsel patients of an