PrenaTest and Panorama-Test

and Martina Feichter, medical editor and biologist

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Martina Feichter studied biology with an elective subject pharmacy in Innsbruck and also immersed herself in the world of medicinal plants. From there it was not far to other medical topics that still captivate her to this day. She trained as a journalist at the Axel Springer Academy in Hamburg and has been working for since 2007 - first as an editor and since 2012 as a freelance writer.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

Like the Panorama test, the PrenaTest is a prenatal blood test. Down syndrome and other chromosome abnormalities such as trisomy 13 or trisomy 18 can be diagnosed with their help with high probability. A blood sample from the expectant mother is sufficient for the examination. In contrast to invasive methods of prenatal diagnosis (such as amniocentesis), the PrenaTest and Panorama-Test therefore do not involve any risk of miscarriage. Read more about the two test procedures!

ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. Q90

PrenaTest and Panorama-Test: Procedure

Fragments of the child's genetic material also circulate in the blood of pregnant women. Blood tests such as the PrenaTest and the Panorama Test make use of this fact: They filter out the child's DNA snippets from the mother's blood. These can then be examined for various chromosome abnormalities. Depending on the test, this includes, for example:

• Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)
• Trisomy 13
• Trisomy 18
• Klinefelter Syndrome
• Turner Syndrome

Before the blood sample required for the PrenaTest or Panorama test is taken from the pregnant woman, she receives detailed genetic advice from the doctor. The blood sample is then sent in for analysis. According to the manufacturers, the results of the examination are available to the doctor after up to six working days (PrenaTest) or within 7 to 10 calendar days (Panorama test). He will then discuss the test result with the pregnant woman.

Note: In addition to the PrenaTest and Panorama-Test, there are other comparable blood tests to determine chromosome abnormalities in the unborn child. These include the Harmony test and the Prenatalis test.

Advantages & reliability

The PrenaTest and the Panorama Test are easy and low-risk to carry out. A simple blood sample from the expectant mother is sufficient for this. In contrast to invasive prenatal diagnostic procedures (amniotic fluid examination, chorionic villus sampling, umbilical cord puncture), there is no increased risk of miscarriage with these blood tests.

In addition, the PrenaTest and the Panorama Test can be carried out earlier in pregnancy than the invasive methods.

Both the PrenaTest and the Panorama Test are considered to be very reliable. Down syndrome, trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 can be detected in almost all cases. For other chromosomal abnormalities (such as Turner syndrome), the test accuracy is slightly lower.

What concerns do critics have?

Parents-to-be should be aware that the results of the PrenaTest and the Panorama Test are very reliable, but not 100 percent certain. This means: Even if the test result speaks for a Down syndrome, for example, the child can be born without this trisomy (false-positive test result). To be on the safe side, a pregnant woman can therefore have an invasive prenatal examination (such as an amniotic fluid test) carried out if the test result is abnormal.

Conversely, it can also happen that the PrenaTest or Panorama-Test delivers a false negative test result: For example, the child has Turner syndrome, which the test does not detect. Some rare forms of trisomy (such as mosaic trisomy) cannot be reliably detected with such blood tests. In a mosaic trisomy, only some body cells have an extra (third) chromosome, while all other body cells are "normal".

It should also be borne in mind that the PrenaTest and Panorama-Test can only examine the child's genome for certain chromosome abnormalities. It does not cover others.

Critics also fear that these simple prenatal blood tests for chromosome abnormalities could help more pregnant women abort their child (if the test result is positive).

Who is the test for?

The PrenaTest or Panorama-Test is an option if a pregnant woman has risk factors for a chromosomal abnormality such as Down's syndrome. These include, for example, the older mother-to-be, a conspicuous result in the first trimester screening or existing trisomies or other chromosome abnormalities in the family.

Both the PrenaTest and the Panorama Test can only be carried out from the ninth week of pregnancy at the earliest.

In certain cases, such a non-invasive prenatal blood test may not be feasible. This applies, for example, if the pregnant woman is expecting more than two children (triplets, etc.).

PrenaTest and Panorama-Test: costs

The costs for the PrenaTest or Panorama-Test depend on how many chromosome abnormalities the maternal blood sample is to be examined for. For the PrenaTest, the price ranges from 199 to 299 euros, depending on the test package. The panorama test costs between 329 and 479 euros, depending on the package.

In addition, there are always the separate costs of the doctor for human genetic advice, blood collection and information.

As a rule, pregnant women have to pay for all costs themselves: PrenaTest and Panorama-Test are offered to women as an individual health service (IGeL). The health insurance company will only (partially) cover the costs of the prenatal examination in individual cases. Pregnant women should discuss possible reimbursement of costs in advance with their doctor and health insurance company.

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