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Imaging findings in association with altered maternal alpha-fetoprotein levels during pregnancy

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Abstract

Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein is a valuable laboratory test used in pregnant women as an indicator to detect certain clinical abnormalities. These can be grouped into four main categories: fetal factors, pregnancy complications, placental abnormalities, and maternal factors. Imaging is an invaluable tool to investigate the various etiologies leading to altered maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein. By reading this article, the radiologist, sonologist, or other health care practitioner should be able to define the probable pathology leading to the laboratory detected abnormal maternal serum levels, thus helping the clinician to appropriately manage the pregnancy and counsel the patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA

    Hassan Aboughalia, Sarah Bastawrous & Mariam Moshiri

  2. Department of Radiology, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA

    Sarah Bastawrous

  3. Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Margarita V. Revzin

  4. Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA

    Shani S. Delaney

  5. Department of Radiology, NYU Winthrop Hospital, Mineola, NY, USA

    Douglas S. Katz

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  1. Hassan Aboughalia
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Aboughalia, H., Bastawrous, S., Revzin, M.V. et al. Imaging findings in association with altered maternal alpha-fetoprotein levels during pregnancy. Abdom Radiol 45, 3239–3257 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-020-02499-2

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