Home testing for pregnancy — can it be recommended?

Abstract

A kit for home testing for pregnancy (Predictor) was tested by 201 volunteers with a menstrual delay of eight days or more who had requested a pregnancy test at a pharmacy. This number corresponds to two-thirds of the women attending the pharmacy for this purpose during the study period. The same urine sample was also tested by experienced analysts with Pregnosticon All-in—an essentially identical method with a guaranteed sensitivity of 1000 U/1 (2nd IS)—as well as assayed for choriogonadotrophin (CG) content by a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay. Of 101 samples with a CG concentration of more than 1000 U/l all were positive with the home test. Of 95 samples with a CG concentration below 1000 U/l, 91 were recorded as negative, two as equivocal and two as positive. The figures for sensitivity and predictive values of positive and negative test results were thus 98–100 %, and those for Pregnosticon All-in were 99–100 %. We conclude that home testing for pregnancy with suitable reagents may offer acceptable sensitivity and efficiency.

Key-words:

• chorionic gonadotrophin
• home test
• pregnancy testing
• self-testing