Early detection of human chorionic gonadotrophin with consumer-grade testing methods

This study examined the ability of consumer-grade pregnancy tests to detect urine hCG at low concentrations early in a person's luteal phase and before the expected menses. Testing was performed with a commercially available pregnancy test strip that has a sensitivity of 10 mIU/mL. This is compared to other easily accessible tests that claim hCG concentration sensitivity anywhere between 25 mIU/mL and 100 mIU/mL. It was found that among 33 couples attempting to conceive, 24 had detectable levels of hCG at an average of 11.6 days after their most fertile day. This was compared to the 17.1 days post-peak fertile day observed with pregnancy tests with a sensitivity of 25 mIU/mL. It was noted that 7 of the 33 participants had experienced miscarriages. No correlation was found between the time until their first positive pregnancy test and their later miscarriage. The early detection of hCG before other commercially available tests and prior to a person's next expected menses can allow for more time for a person to make more informed decisions regarding their health.