Determination of Quantitative Beta-hCG Levels in Patients Through Alternative and Less Invasive Sample Types
Determination of Quantitative Beta-hCG Levels in Patients Through Alternative and Less Invasive Sample Types
This study is to determine if there is any quantifiable correlation between serum beta hCG and dried blood spot (DBS) beta hCG levels. This data will be used to develop a less invasive collection method to determine quantitative hCG levels.
A cohort of 40 individuals at various stages of pregnancy or medical abortion will be recruited for the study. Each participant will provide biospecimens that include the following: serum, saliva, urine, and dried blood spot (DBS). These samples will be collected and stored at the clinic under appropriate storage conditions until they can be shipped, under dry ice, to the testing lab. Once samples arrive at the lab, serum samples will be thawed and prepared to run on an ECL analyzer to determine reference beta hCG values in mIU/mL for each participant.
Samples will be run as they are received by the lab. The initial 10-12 samples will be used to evaluate study feasiblility and determine if there is one sample type that performs better than the others. The other matched sample types will be processed and run on the ECL analyzer. The values for beta hCG mIU/mL of the other sample types will then be compared to the matched serum to determine if there are any consistent correlations.
In the first 10-12 samples, if one sample type is shown to perform better than the others, the study will shift focus towards prioritizing the analysis of that particular sample type in regards to correlation with serum. If more than one sample type is shown to perform well, then those sample types will be equally prioritized. If no sample type shows any correlation, the study will end.
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria: