Laboratory Medicine
Test Directory / Human Chorionic Gonadotropin
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin
Brown clotted serum, gel barrier
| Test | Human Chorionic Gonadotropin |
|---|---|
| Common Abbreviations | HCG |
| Profile | NA |
| Tube type | Brown clotted serum, gel barrier |
| Clinical Indication | HCG is used in the assessment of pregnancy status. During pregnancy, the levels of hCG increase exponentially for about 8 to 10 weeks after the last menstrual cycle. Later in pregnancy, about 12 weeks after conception, the hCG concentration begins to fall as the placenta begins to produce steroid hormones. Other sources of elevated hCG values are in ectopic pregnancy, threatened abortion, and recent termination of pregnancy. HCG is also used to monitor patients with gestational trophoblastic disease and in conjunction with alpha-fetoprotein for determining prognosis and monitoring patients with non-seminomatous germ cell tumours. |
| Specimen Type | Blood (Qualitative HCG test also available for plain urine) |
| Sample type | Serum |
| Minimum Volume | 0.5mL If requesting more than 10 tests please send an additional brown clotted serum sample. |
| Special Precautions | No special requirements |
| Stability | 5 days at 20 - 25°C, 14 days at 2 - 8°C and 12 months at -20°C |
| Turnaround Time | Urgent: 2 hours Inpatient: 24 hours Outpatient/ GP: 24 hours |
| Laboratory | York and Scarborough |
| Reference Interval | Females pre-menopause: < or equal to 1 IU/L Females post-menopausal < or equal to 7 IU/L Males: <2 IU/L (Quoted by the manufacturer) |
| Limitations | Analysis should not be performed on haemolysed, icteric or lipaemic samples. The assay is unaffected by biotin < 287 nmol/L or < 70 ng/mL. No interference was observed from rheumatoid factors up to a concentration of 1200 IU/mL. Samples should not be taken from patients receiving therapy with high biotin doses (i.e. > 5 mg/day) until at least 8 hours following the last biotin administration. In vitro tests were performed on 16 commonly used pharmaceuticals. No interference with the assay was found. In rare cases, interference due to extremely high titres of antibodies to analyte specific antibodies, streptavidin or ruthenium can occur. |
| Notes |
