Clinical Effectiveness of First Trimester Anomaly Screening in England
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Clinical Effectiveness of First Trimester Anomaly Screening in England
IRAS ID
292151
Contact name
Aris T. Papageorghiou
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 18 days
Research summary
In collaboration with PHE/FASP (Public Health England/Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme), our team has recently performed a national scoping survey of first trimester ultrasound practice in England. Preliminary results from this work indicate that many NHS trusts have begun to perform early anomaly screening in the first trimester of pregnancy, despite an absence of national recommendations in this regard.
Given that there is currently no national framework in place for the performance of first trimester anomaly screening, it is unsurprising that this process lacks standardization between NHS trusts in many regards including: the type of anatomical protocol used, pre-scan information given to patients, time allocated to scanning, training provided to the sonographer team and protocols in place for management of positive/suspicious findings.
The rationale of our project is to understand how local policies regarding early fetal anomaly screening impact the diagnosis of fetal congenital anomalies in England, specifically the gestational age at which this diagnosis is confirmed.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/NW/0173
Date of REC Opinion
9 Jun 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion