Human chorionic gonadotropin is the hormone detected in urine by modern-day point-of-care pregnancy tests. It is produced by syncytiotrophoblasts and, to a lesser extent, cytotrophoblasts in the developing placental tissue following implantation of a blastocyst in the endometrial lining of the uterus. However, a quick look through the current literature confirms that increased hCG level is much more than an indicator of developing life.
Human chorionic gonadotropin suspected heterophile interference investigations in immunoassays: a recommended approach
Jara-Aguirre JC, Baumann NA, Block DR, Algeciras-Schimnich A. Clin Chem Lab Med 2019 Feb 12. pii: /j/cclm.ahead-of-print/cclm-2018-1142/cclm-2018-1142.xml. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2018-1142 ([Epub ahead of print)]
Heterophile antibody (HAb) interferences in immunoassays can cause falsely elevated human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) concentrations leading to incorrect diagnosis and treatment options. When results are not consistent with the clinical findings, hCG HAb interference investigation may be requested by the physician. A retrospective evaluation of the frequency of HAb interference was performed among cases of physician-requested investigations and the effectiveness of commercially available blocking reagents to detect HAb interference in two immunoassay systems was evaluated.
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