Podcast 858: Whole Blood Pregnancy Test

Podcast 858: Whole Blood Pregnancy Test

Contributor: Meghan Hurley MD

Educational Pearls:

What do you do if you need a stat pregnancy test on an incapacitated patient?

  • You can send a serum quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-HCG), but that might take a while for the lab to process.

  • Another option is to place a drop of whole blood on a urine pregnancy immunoassay.

    • These tests are already verified for urine and serum.

    • 2012 study showed that whole blood was 95.8% sensitive for pregnancy compared to 95.3% for urine.

    • Takes a little bit longer (10 minutes was used in the study) due to the viscosity of blood.

    • Word of caution: This study only looked at a single urine pregnancy kit type. It is possible that other kits would have a different efficacy.

  • There are new finger stick tests coming out for capillary blood.

  • Anecdotally, Dr. Hurley was able to use this technique to support a diagnosis of ruptured ectopic pregnancy in a patient that needed emergent surgery.

References

  • Fromm C, Likourezos A, Haines L, Khan AN, Williams J, Berezow J. Substituting whole blood for urine in a bedside pregnancy test. J Emerg Med. 2012 Sep;43(3):478-82. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2011.05.028. Epub 2011 Aug 27. PMID: 21875776.

  • Sowder AM, Yarbrough ML, Nerenz RD, Mitsios JV, Mortensen R, Gronowski AM, Grenache DG. Analytical performance evaluation of the i-STAT Total β-human chorionic gonadotropin immunoassay. Clin Chim Acta. 2015 Jun 15;446:165-70. doi: 10.1016/j.cca.2015.04.025. Epub 2015 Apr 25. PMID: 25916696.

Summarized by Jeffrey Olson, MS1 | Edited by Meg Joyce & Jorge Chalit, OMSII

Jaksot(1144)

Episode 973: Meningitis Retention Syndrome

Episode 973: Meningitis Retention Syndrome

Contributor: Travis Barlock MD Educational Pearls: Meningitis retention syndrome is a relatively novel and rare clinical condition Aseptic meningitis + acute urinary retention One study reports an i...

8 Syys 20252min

Episode 972: Hepatic Encephalopathy

Episode 972: Hepatic Encephalopathy

Contributor: Alec Coston, MD Educational Pearls: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is defined as a disruption in brain function that results from impaired liver function or portosystemic shunting. Manifes...

3 Syys 20253min

Episode 971: Calcium Pretreatment for Diltiazem in AFib with RVR

Episode 971: Calcium Pretreatment for Diltiazem in AFib with RVR

Contributor: Taylor Lynch, MD Educational Pearls: What is atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response (AFib with RVR) and how does it differ from atrial fibrillation (AFib)? AFib is an abnorm...

25 Elo 20252min

Episode 970: Fever Management

Episode 970: Fever Management

Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: Recorded March 2025 What is the best treatment for a fever? Tylenol? Ibuprofen? Combined? Alternating the two? The journal Pediatrics aimed to answer...

22 Elo 20252min

Episode 969: Shoulder Reduction

Episode 969: Shoulder Reduction

Contributor: Aaron Lessen, MD Educational Pearls: There are many techniques for reducing a shoulder dislocation A recent study discussed a new variation of closed reduction technique: wrist-clamping ...

11 Elo 20252min

Episode 968: Heavy Metals

Episode 968: Heavy Metals

Contributor: Megan Hurley MD Educational Pearls: Acute toxicity of heavy metals: Gastrointestinal upset is the most common presentation Chronic toxicity of heavy metals: Symptoms depend on the meta...

4 Elo 20252min

Episode 967: Dilutional Hyponatremia

Episode 967: Dilutional Hyponatremia

Contributor: Taylor Lynch, MD Educational Pearls: Dilutional Hyponatremia: Occurs when there is an excess of free water relative to sodium in the body. Causes a falsely low sodium concentration witho...

28 Heinä 20252min

EMSAC 2024

EMSAC 2024

Contributors: Col. (Dr.) Stacy Shackelford Dr. Sean Keenan Paramedic Alan Moreland Dr. Chris Tems Kara Napolitano From military-inspired trauma protocols to behavioral health alternatives and cardiac ...

26 Heinä 202511min

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
rss-poliisin-mieli
rss-duodecim-lehti
tiedekulma-podcast
rss-lihavuudesta-podcast
docemilia
utelias-mieli
mielipaivakirja
radio-antro
sotataidon-ytimessa
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-laakaripodi
rss-mental-race
rss-opeklubi
rss-luontopodi-samuel-glassar-tutkii-luonnon-ihmeita
rss-sosiopodi