Dermatoglyphics in Down's syndrome IV. Evaluation of the use of dermatoglyphic discriminants after the topological classification of constituent characters

The dermatoglyphic discriminants proposed by Penrose & Loesch were used for differentiation between samples of 183 patients with Down's syndrome and 125 controls. The discriminant weightings determined for our Dutch individuals did not deviate much from those determined by Penrose & Loesch for individuals in Great Britain. The estimated percentage of misclassification compares well with the same quantity calculated in the original papers. Moreover, since the method compares well with other known scoring methods, it can be used to advantage in cases of unknown or discrepant symptoms in a patient. The disadvantage of the method, for the confirmation of a clinical diagnosis of Down's syndrome, seems to be that it is rather laborious.