Comparison of the performance of NIPT and NIPT‐plus for fetal chromosomal aneuploidy and high Z‐score increases the positive predictive value

Abstract Objective To evaluate non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and expanded non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT‐plus) for detecting aneuploidies at different sequencing depths and assess Z ‐score accuracy in predicting trisomies 21, 18, 13, 45X, and 47XXX. Methods Pregnancies with positive NIPT or NIPT‐plus results detected at the prenatal diagnosis center of Nanfang Hospital were included in this retrospective study, between January 2017 and December 2022. Invasive prenatal diagnostic results were collected. Logistic regression analyses were used to study the relationship between Z ‐score and positive predictive value (PPV). Optimal cut‐off values were obtained based on receiver operating characteristic analysis, and PPVs were calculated in different groups. Results We evaluated 1348 pregnant women with positive results, including 930 reported by NIPT and 418 reported by NIPT‐plus. NIPT reported significantly more rare chromosomal aneuploidies (RCAs), and NIPT‐plus had a significantly higher PPV for trisomy 21 (T21). Logistic regression analyses showed a significant association ( P < 0.001) between Z ‐score and PPVs for T21 and trisomy 18 (T18). A linear relationship was observed between fetal fraction (FF) and Z ‐values in the true positive cases of T21 and T18.The high Z ‐score group had significantly higher PPVs than the low Z ‐score group for T21, T18, trisomy 13, and 47XXX, but not for 45X. Conclusion The Z ‐score is helpful in assessing NIPT or NIPT‐plus results. Therefore, we suggest including the Z ‐score and FF in the results. By combining the Z ‐score, FF, and maternal age, clinicians can interpret NIPT results more accurately and improve personal counsel to reduce patients' anxiety.