Re: HCG Levels

Posted By hfhs.md.rcs on November 05, 1998 at 18:24:57:

In Reply to: HCG Levels posted by Susie on November 05, 1998 at 17:47:13:






I was reading other post regarding Hcg levels, my girlfriend is pregnant
and I was researching for her.  She's been given two blood test this week
trying to determin how far along she, since she doesn't know when her last
period was.  On Monday 11-2-98 her hcg level was 147,000 on Wed 11-4-98 her
level was 130,000.  Is the decrease anything she should be worried about?
Is there any guess as to thesse numbers how many weeks pregnant she is?
Thanks!
Dear Susie:
As you have read several times in previous reports, hCG levels have little meaning. The laboratory where the test was run may have observed how levels in their assay correlate with pregnancy in a loose way: I cannot judge.
hCG peaks between the 8th and 12 weeks of pregnancy and then the values stay on a plateau. Plateau values vary from measurements to measurement due to "interassay variation" (the normal background noise in the assay) which approximates 10%. Thus 147,000 and 130,000 are the same value.
Pregnancy is dated by last menstrual period, uterine size on clinical exam, the time when the fetal heart is first heard with a non-electronic stethescope; first fetal movements; and most often in 1998, ultrasound measurements of the fetus. Pregnancy is not dated by hCG levels.
Keywrods: hCG