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(1153)

Emergency Medicine Cases with Dr. Barlock

Emergency Medicine Cases with Dr. Barlock

Contributors: Travis Barlock MD, Jeffrey Olson MS4 Feel free to use the cases below for your own practice. All of the scenarios are completely made up and designed to hit several teaching points. Case...

9 Syys 202553min

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

Suosittua kategoriassa Tiede

rss-mita-tulisi-tietaa
tiedekulma-podcast
rss-poliisin-mieli
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-kasvikutsut
rss-kasvatuspsykologiaa-kaikille
utelias-mieli
docemilia
vinkista-vihia
mielipaivakirja
radio-antro
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-ammamafia
rss-astetta-parempi-elama-podcast
rss-tiedetta-vai-tarinaa
rss-lapsuuden-rakentajat-podcast
rss-lihavuudesta-podcast