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HCG blood test - quantitative Information | Mount Sinai

Serial beta HCG; Repeat quantitative beta HCG; Human chorionic gonadotropin blood test - quantitative; Beta-HCG blood test - quantitative; Pregnancy test - blood - quantitative

A quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) test measures the specific level of HCG in the blood. HCG is a hormone produced in the body during pregnancy.

Other HCG tests include:

• HCG urine test
• HCG blood test -- qualitative

Blood is drawn from a vein (venipuncture), usually from the inside of the elbow or the back of the hand. A needle is inserted into the vein, and the blood is collected in an air-tight vial or a syringe. Preparation may vary depending on the specific test.

How the Test is Performed

A blood sample is needed. This is most often taken from a vein. The procedure is called a venipuncture.

How to Prepare for the Test

No special preparation is needed.

How the Test will Feel

When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain. Others feel only a prick or stinging sensation. Afterward, there may be some throbbing.

Why the Test is Performed

HCG appears in the blood and urine of pregnant women as early as 10 days after conception. Quantitative HCG measurement helps determine the exact age of the fetus. It can also assist in the diagnosis of abnormal pregnancies, such as ectopic pregnancies, molar pregnancies, and possible miscarriages. It is also used as part of a screening test for Down syndrome.

This test is also done to diagnose abnormal conditions not related to pregnancy that can raise HCG level.

Normal Results

Results are given in milli-international units per milliliter (mUI/mL).

Normal levels are found in:

• Non-pregnant women: less than 5 mIU/mL
• Healthy men: less than 2 mIU/mL

In pregnancy, HCG level rises rapidly during the first trimester and then declines slightly. The expected HCG ranges in pregnant women are based on the length of the pregnancy.

• 3 weeks: 5 - 72 mIU/mL
• 4 weeks: 10 -708 mIU/mL
• 5 weeks: 217 - 8,245 mIU/mL
• 6 weeks: 152 - 32,177 mIU/mL
• 7 weeks: 4,059 - 153,767 mIU/mL
• 8 weeks: 31,366 - 149,094 mIU/mL
• 9 weeks: 59,109 - 135,901 mIU/mL
• 10 weeks: 44,186 - 170,409 mIU/mL
• 12 weeks: 27,107 - 201,165 mIU/mL
• 14 weeks: 24,302 - 93,646 mIU/mL
• 15 weeks: 12,540 - 69,747 mIU/mL
• 16 weeks: 8,904 - 55,332 mIU/mL
• 17 weeks: 8,240 - 51,793 mIU/mL
• 18 weeks: 9,649 - 55,271 mIU/mL

Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific test result.

What Abnormal Results Mean

Higher than normal level may indicate:

• More than one fetus, for example, twins or triplets
• Choriocarcinoma of the uterus
• Hydatidiform mole of the uterus
• Ovarian cancer
• Testicular cancer (in men)

During pregnancy, lower than normal levels based on the gestational age may indicate:

• Fetal death
• Incomplete miscarriage
• Threatened spontaneous abortion (miscarriage)
• Ectopic pregnancy

Risks

Risks of having blood drawn are slight, but may include:

• Excessive bleeding
• Fainting or feeling lightheaded
• Blood accumulating under the skin (hematoma)
• Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)

Jain S, Pincus MR, Bluth MH, McPherson RA, Bowne WB, Lee P. Diagnosis and management of cancer using serological and other body fluid markers. In: McPherson RA, Pincus MR, eds. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 23rd ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2017:chap 74.

Jeelani R, Bluth MH. Reproductive function and pregnancy. In: McPherson RA, Pincus MR, eds. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 23rd ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2017:chap 25.

University of Iowa Diagnostic Laboratories. Test directory: HCG - serum, quantitative. www.healthcare.uiowa.edu/path_handbook/rhandbook/test446.html. Updated February 10, 2022. Accessed March 11, 2022.

Yarbrough ML, Stout M, Gronowski AM. Pregnancy and its disorders. In: Rifai N, ed. Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics. 6th ed. St Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2018:chap 69.

Last reviewed on: 12/3/2020

Reviewed by: LaQuita Martinez, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emory Johns Creek Hospital, Alpharetta, GA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. Editorial update 03/11/2022.

hCG during pregnancy - tests, norm

hCG is a hormone that is considered an important marker confirming pregnancy at an early stage. It begins to be produced by the chorion, one of the components of the placenta, on the sixth day after fertilization. With the help of ultrasound during this period, it is impossible to determine pregnancy, in this case, hCG tests in the early stages of pregnancy (rapid tests and blood tests) help.

Functions of gonadotropin

HCG produced during pregnancy has the following functions:

• stimulation of estrogen and progesterone formation;
• corpus luteum support;
• maternal immune support.

HCG tests in early pregnancy reveal a spike in the hormone. At this time, the fetus is not yet able to produce the necessary hormones, and it needs hormonal support. When the fetus begins to form a sufficient hormonal background, the level of hCG will begin to subside. In addition to hCG during pregnancy, it is necessary to take tests for other hormones. nine0003

General analysis of hCG

Express tests are not enough to accurately establish pregnancy. It is necessary to do a venous blood test. It is better to donate blood on an empty stomach (last meal 8-10 hours before the procedure). If you are taking any medications, it is best to tell your doctor about it.

HCG tests in early pregnancy should be done 3-4 days after the cycle delay, and if the hormone level is elevated, you can repeat the test after 3-4 days for clarification. nine0003

Many young women do not know when hCG blood tests will show pregnancy and try to get tested as early as possible. However, during the first two weeks there is a high risk that the result of the analysis will be unreliable, so it makes sense to take it only after this period.

How to decipher hCG tests

If you passed an hCG test, it is not difficult to decipher during pregnancy, there are online calculators and various tables for this, which can be used not only by a doctor, but by any person. nine0003

In the first time after fertilization, the hCG hormone rises rapidly. For 7 days, from 25 mU / ml, its level rises to 150, and already in the third week to 4800 mU / ml. Therefore, if hCG has risen sharply, then this is highly likely to indicate the onset of pregnancy.

However, it should be understood that the level of hCG in different people is individual, and it depends not only on pregnancy, but also on other factors. And if you are not sure about something, then it is better to contact the clinic where you were analyzed for a transcript. nine0003

What affects the growth of hCG

The level of the hormone rises not only during pregnancy, it also depends on the following factors:

• taking drugs with gonadotropin;
• post-abortion gonadotropin residue;
• hydatidiform mole;
• certain cancers.

If pregnancy is not confirmed, but the level of hCG is elevated, a doctor should be consulted.

In our clinic, hCG tests are carried out in the early stages of pregnancy, followed by interpretation of the information received. nine0003

Our clinics in St. Petersburg

You can get detailed information and make an appointment by calling +7 (812) 640-55-25

Make an appointment

HCG analysis in health and disease

During pregnancy, the placenta produces hCG (human chorionic hormone), which indicates pregnancy. This is a gonadotropic hormone, which in its structure is very similar to other similar hormones (follicle-stimulating and luteinizing), but in it the amino acids are located in a different sequence. In the absence of pregnancy, hCG is negative. It begins to be produced by the placenta already in the first hours from conception. The concentration of hCG increases by the eleventh week by several thousand times, and then the hCG levels gradually decrease. nine0003

HCG - what is it?

The structure of hCG is 237 amino acids. It consists of α and β subunits. The second subunit is unique. It's called free hCG. It is thanks to β (beta) hCG that it differs significantly from such gonadotropins as luteinizing and follicle-stimulating hormones. What are its biological properties?

In a non-pregnant woman, the corpus luteum, which formed at the site of the follicle, exists for two weeks of each cycle, and then it is resorbed. When pregnancy occurs, the corpus luteum is not reduced until the tenth or twelfth week of pregnancy, it produces progesterone and estrogen. Then the placenta itself starts doing it. nine0003

This is only possible due to the fact that there is a rapid increase in hCG. At the same time, due to the fact that there is an increased hCG, the corpus luteum synthesizes such a huge amount of progesterone, which is a priori impossible in the absence of pregnancy. Elevated hCG stimulates the ovarian follicular apparatus, which produces estrogens and weak androgens. Free hCG causes a thickening of the adrenal cortex, which produces more steroid hormones than in the absence of pregnancy. nine0003

HCG values ​​

A non-pregnant woman normally has negative hCG, that is, this hormone is absent. However, it can be produced by various hormone-producing tumors. HCG indicators such as hCG 0, hCG 1, hCG 2, hCG 3, hCG 5 indicate the absence of pregnancy. A pregnancy test is nothing but a beta hCG test.

This is extremely important for the normal course of pregnancy, since the hormones of the adrenal cortex have an anti-stress effect, they also suppress the immune system and prevent the rejection of the fetus, which is half a foreign body for a pregnant woman. If the hCG levels are high, then they contribute to the normal development of the placenta and support its functional activity. nine0003

If you take an HCG injection in the middle of a woman's cycle, the ovaries begin to produce more estrogen and the hormone progesterone. After an injection of hCG, ovulation is stimulated, the luteinization of the follicle, which has burst, is maintained at a high level, and subsequently the function of the corpus luteum is maintained at the proper level. In men, after an injection of hCG, spermatogenesis increases and androgen synthesis increases.

Consider what is the norm of human chorionic hormone. We present the HCG norm INVITRO. The results of free hCG are presented in the hCG table. In the first two weeks of pregnancy, the hCG level is from twenty-five to one hundred and fifty-six milliunits per milliliter. This means that such indicators of hCG as hCG6, hCG7, hCG10 and hCG12 do not indicate a successful conception. nine0003

By the end of the fourth week, the hCG analysis should show a result of at least 31500 mU / ml, and by the eleventh week after conception, the hCG level should be at least two hundred ninety thousand. From that moment on, the concentration of hCG decreases and by the end of pregnancy and the analysis of hCG becomes seventy-eight thousand one hundred milliunits per milliliter. Such normal results of the analysis of hCG for weeks.

Sometimes obstetricians use daily hCG analysis. Such indicators of hCG after the transfer are very important. To do this, use the hCG table. The hCG table exists for five-day and three-day embryos. The level of hCG DPP for three days is considered on the day that occurred after the transfer of a three-day embryo, and the level of DPP for five days is the concentration of the hCG hormone after the transfer of an embryo that was five days old. You need to use the hCG table correctly. nine0003

Deciphering hCG should be carried out in the laboratory where you took the test. The result of hCG INVITRO is performed by an experienced laboratory assistant. A woman needs an hCG calculator. It helps to calculate beta hCG depending on the day of conception, embryo transfer, or delayed menstruation. Using the hCG calculator, determine the gestational age and evaluate the level of the hormone beta hCG.

In what cases is low hCG determined? Low hCG can be in such situations:

• incorrectly determined the gestational age;
• there is a threat of termination of pregnancy;
• in ectopic pregnancy;
• in case of miscarriage or fetal death;
• for post-pregnancy;
• in case of chronic placental insufficiency.

When there is increased hCG

Free hCG is increased in certain cases:

• incorrect calculation of gestational age; nine0122 • in case of multiple pregnancy;
• prolonged pregnancy;
• if the woman has early morning sickness;
• when taking a synthetic progestogen;
• in case of diabetes in pregnancy;
• if the fetus has Down syndrome.

hCG in ectopic pregnancy

It must be understood that the level of hCG begins to rise not from the moment of fertilization of the egg, but from the day when the embryo is implanted in the uterus. Of course, an ectopic pregnancy is often a tragedy for a woman. When implanting a fetal egg outside the uterine cavity, it is not possible to maintain a pregnancy. In addition, this pathology of pregnancy promises a lot of trouble for the woman herself, it is a threat to her life. Therefore, every woman who suspects pregnancy should take an hCG test on time. nine0003

An ectopic pregnancy in the early stages is no different from a physiological one: there is also a delay in menstruation, nipples become rough, discomfort in the lower abdomen, nausea and intolerance to odors, and special culinary preferences may appear. And only the results of the analysis of hCG can allow us to suspect that something is not happening as it should. The level of hCG during an ectopic pregnancy is always elevated.

When an hCG test is ordered

An hCG test is required in the following cases:

• to determine the duration of pregnancy by hCG;
• in violation of placental function;
• for suspected ectopic pregnancy;
• to control pregnancy;
• for the purpose of correcting the ongoing pregnant treatment.

ACE and hCG are prescribed for intrauterine determination of fetal pathology. ACE is recommended to take at the fifteenth week of pregnancy. ACE and hCG can be taken at the same time. With anomalies in the development of the neural tube and heart, the level of ACE increases. HCG, on the other hand, may indicate chorionepithelioma and hydatidiform mole. nine0003

In order for the results of the hCG analysis to be true, certain recommendations must be followed.

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