
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 16, 1993                   TAG: 9309160079
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

ULTRASOUND HELPS LITTLE, STUDY FINDS

The routine use of prenatal ultrasound screening does not improve the outcome of pregnancies for low-risk women, according to the results of a study of 15,530 low-risk pregnancies, the largest ever conducted on prenatal ultrasound screening.

The study's authors said the results indicated ultrasound should be used more selectively.

The six-year, $7 million study found the same rate of early deliveries and low-weight babies among women who received routine ultrasound and those who did not.

The rate of fetal defects at birth also was the same, 5 percent for both groups.

The study said excessive screening could be wasting more than $1 billion a year. If screening were limited to women who are considered to be clearly at risk of complications, about 40 percent of the total, the savings would amount to $500 million a year.

by CNB