What is a quantitative blood test?
When a woman becomes pregnant, her body begins to produce a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) to create and maintain the placenta around the developing egg. The qualitative blood or urine test only measures if HCG is present and is a common method of testing pregnancy. On the other hand, the quantitative blood test will measure the levels at which HCG appears to determine the approximate due date and whether abnormalities or abortion could occur. The levels
HCG increase according to the relatively predictable time tables until women have been pregnant for about five months, and then keep this level until birth. According to the American Association of Pregnancy, about 85 percent of pregnant women will have HCG levels that double every two or three days, until the end of the first trimester, when these levels begin to take about four days to double. Since these figures are relatively predictable, doctors can order a quantitative blood test for measuring probability of the various problems.
National health institutions maintain a list of appropriate scope of quantitative levels of blood tests, based on the range of weeks when a woman was pregnant. If the test reveals hCG levels that are too low, it could mean abortion, partial abortions or ectopic pregnancy, which means that the fetus is developing outside the uterus. Another set of potential problems or surprises could be signaled if the levels are too high, from cancer and internal moths to twins or more than two fruits have evolved in parallel.
The quantitative blood test is used in accordance with other tests if it is suspected of Down syndrome. It is regularly used to determine the maturity date than ultrasound can more precisely determine this date. This test can pass several names, depending on the laboratory and the doctor who prescribes it. Serial beta hcg and repeat quantitative beta hcg are other common names for this TESt.
If the quantitative blood test reveals too high or too low HCG levels, doctors will start to improve a specific problem. Medical imaging and other blood tests can be ordered to identify the specific conditions the patient experiences. Subsequent testing, especially ultrasound after five or six weeks, may reveal that there are no problems because some women have abnormal levels of HCG and give birth to healthy children.