Triple Test

The triple test, also called triple screen, the Kettering test or the Bart's test, is an investigation performed during pregnancy in the second trimester to classify a patient as either high-risk or low-risk for chromosomal abnormalities (and neural tube defects).

The term "multiple-marker screening test" is sometimes used instead. This term can encompass the "double test" and "quadruple test" (described below).

The Triple test measures serum levels of AFP, estriol, and beta-hCG, with a 70% sensitivity and 5% false-positive rate. It is complemented in some regions of the United States, as the Quad test (adding inhibin A to the panel, resulting in an 81% sensitivity and 5% false-positive rate for detecting Down syndrome when taken at 15–18 weeks of gestational age) and other prenatal diagnosis techniques, although it remains widely used in Canada and other countries. A positive test means having a high risk of chromosomal abnormalities (and neural tube defects), and such patients are then referred for more sensitive and specific procedures to receive a definitive diagnosis, mostly invasive procedures like amniocentesis. The Triple test can be understood as an early predecessor to a long line of subsequent technological improvements. In some American states, such as Missouri, Medicaid reimburses only for the Triple test and not other potentially more accurate screening tests, whereas California offers Quad tests to all pregnant women.