A screening test for patients suspected of having Turner syndrome.

An index has been devised using dermatoglyphics and selected physical traits to screen for patients suspected of having Turner syndrome. About 60% of females with and without Turner syndrome can be diagnosed as having or not having the syndrome with a 98% or greater probability. The patient's score on the index, expressed in probability, can be used to decide whether chromosome studies should be done. Using the approach demonstrated in this pilot study, the discriminative power can be increased by adding more features and by enlarging the sample to permit division of features into more discriminating classes.