Podcast 858: Whole Blood Pregnancy Test
Emergency Medical Minute3 Jul 2023

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

Episoder(1145)

Podcast 875: A Pediatric Case of Myopericarditis

Podcast 875: A Pediatric Case of Myopericarditis

Contributor: Meghan Hurley MD Educational Pearls: Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardial sac, which can arise from infectious or non-infectious etiologies Myocarditis is inflammation of t...

30 Okt 20236min

Episode 874: Bradyarrhythmias

Episode 874: Bradyarrhythmias

Contributor: Dylan Luyten MD Educational Pearls: What is a Bradyarrhythmia? Also known as a bradyarrhythmia, it is an irregular heart rate that is also slow (below 60 beats per minute). What can c...

23 Okt 20232min

Podcast 873: Intravesical Tranexamic Acid for Gross Hematuria

Podcast 873: Intravesical Tranexamic Acid for Gross Hematuria

Contributor: Aaron Lessen MD Educational Pearls: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is a common medication to achieve hemostasis in a variety of conditions Patients visiting the ED for gross hematuria (between...

16 Okt 20232min

Podcast 872: Preseptal and Orbital Cellulitis

Podcast 872: Preseptal and Orbital Cellulitis

Contributor: Meghan Hurley MD Educational Pearls: What is Cellulitis? A common and potentially serious bacterial skin infection. Caused by various types of bacteria, with Streptococcus and Staphyl...

9 Okt 20234min

Mental Health Monthly #17: Mania

Mental Health Monthly #17: Mania

Contributors: Andrew White MD - Outpatient Psychiatrist; Fellowship Trained in Addiction Psychiatry; Denver Health Travis Barlock MD - Emergency Medicine Physician; Swedish Medical Center Summary In t...

5 Okt 202340min

Podcast 871: Increased Intracranial Pressure and the Cushing Reflex

Podcast 871: Increased Intracranial Pressure and the Cushing Reflex

Contributor: Travis Barlock MD Education Pearls: The Cushing Reflex is a physiologic response to elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) Cushing's Triad: widened pulse pressure (systolic hypertensio...

2 Okt 20233min

On The Streets #15: Hydrofluoric Acid Case Review

On The Streets #15: Hydrofluoric Acid Case Review

Contributors: Kalen Abbott, MD - EM Physician and Medical Director for AirLife Denver Brendan Reiss - Flight Nurse AirLife Denver Matt Spoon - Flight Paramedic AirLife Denver Jordan Ourada - E...

29 Sep 202341min

Episode 870: Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS)

Episode 870: Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS)

Contributor: Meghan Hurley MD Educational Pearls: What is ATLS? Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) is a systematic and comprehensive approach to the evaluation and management of trauma patients I...

25 Sep 20237min

Populært innen Vitenskap

fastlegen
tingenes-tilstand
rekommandert
jss
rss-nysgjerrige-norge
rss-rekommandert
sinnsyn
forskningno
rss-paradigmepodden
villmarksliv
vett-og-vitenskap-med-gaute-einevoll
fjellsportpodden
nordnorsk-historie
smart-forklart
rss-overskuddsliv
diagnose
abid-nadia-skyld-og-skam
aldring-og-helse-podden
pod-britannia
tidlose-historier