Friday, May 11, 2012

Noninvasive testing for paternity in pregnancy


A recent letter in the NEJM describes a noninvasive test to determine paternity in pregnancy. (N Engl J Med 366; 18 May 3, 2012 page 1743.) 5% of raped women become pregnant, but whether the rape or consensual intercourse caused the pregnancy is often uncertain. 80% of unintended pregnancies are terminated before 10 weeks, making it likely many rape victims terminate pregnancies before testing for paternity. The invasive tests carry a risk of miscarriage, but here the authors report a maternal blood test that in correctly determined paternity in all 30 cases studied. 

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