Amniotic fluid 17-hydroxyprogesterone in early pregnancy.

The results of measurement of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OH-P) in 125 samples of amniotic fluid (AF) from early amniocenteses are presented. The fetuses from all pregnancies studied were unaffected by congenital adrenal hyperphasia caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency. The AF 17-OH-P level increases slightly but significantly between the 11th and 15th week of gestation, with a maximum in the 14th week. There is no difference between the values measured in male and female fetuses. The AF 17-OH-P levels from the early gestation were compared with those from the 16th-22nd week of pregnancy (published previously). The overall differences of AF 17-OH-P concentrations when considered in all gestational age groups in the whole period 12-22 weeks were statistically insignificant. Thus, the biochemical prenatal diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency and control of its early fetal treatment could be carried out starting from the end of the first trimester in the same way as at the later period of gestation.