Posted on 12/11/2006 2:45:29 PM PST by streetpreacher
My friend's wife is about 4 - 5 months pregnant. She recently had a blood test that looks for genetic abnormalities (a quad marker I believe). She was called in today and told by a nurse (still waiting to see a doctor) that she tested positive for TCHG, a birth defect that causes death although the test could have been a "positive negative" requiring further tests. I understand that this test is not conclusive but does anyone have any idea what TCHG is? I can't find anything on the net about it.
Dang, that's not even on Google.
At least I can bump the thread for you. Good luck.
I'm sure that's a lay term or we're just screwing up something in the translation.
I even did a search for THCG, thinking maybe two letters were reversed. Still nothing.
I'm not sure what TCHG is but I do know that one of the things measured in the triple-marker test is the hormone hCG (see link for more info)...
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/prenataltesting/tripletest.html
As a side note: I had this test with my first pregnancy and it came back with a 1 in 80 chance of my child having Down Syndrome. It was a false positive...he is a normal developing 6 year old. False positives are not uncommon.
total human chorionic gonadotrophin (ThCG) ??
hcgt, on goodle is definitely a dna thing....
Could it be HG/HCT ?
T * Problems in the development of the fetus' brain and spinal cord, called open neural tube defects. The quad marker screen can predict approximately 75-80% of open neural tube defects. * Genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality. The quad marker screen can predict approximately 75% of Down syndrome cases in women under age 35 and over 80% of Down syndrome cases in women age 35 years and older.
Great Googlers Google Alike
The test would have been for hCG.
A triple marker pregnancy blood test screens for levels of AFP, hcG and estriol.
The quad screen blood test includes a check on levels of AFP, hcG and estriol and then adds a screen for Inhibin.
From American Pregnancy.org:
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG): The Pregnancy Hormone
The hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (better known as hCG) is produced during pregnancy. It is made by cells that form the placenta, which nourishes the egg after it has been fertilized and becomes attached to the uterine wall. hCG can first be detected by a normal blood test about 11 days after conception and about 12 - 14 days by a urine test. In general the hCG level will double every 72 hours. The levels will reach their peak in the 8 - 11 weeks of pregnancy (the third month) and then will decline and level off for the remainder of the pregnancy.
Key things to remember about hCG levels:
- About 85% of normal pregnancies will have the hCG level double every 48 - 72 hours. As you get further along into pregnancy and the hCG level gets higher, the time it takes to double can increase to about every 96 hours.
- Caution must be used in making too much of hCG numbers. A normal pregnancy may have low hCG levels and deliver a perfectly healthy baby. The results on an ultrasound after 5 - 6 weeks gestation are much more accurate than using hCG numbers.
- An hCG level of less than 5mIU/ml is considered negative for pregnancy, and anything above 25mIU/ml is considered positive for pregnancy.
- hCG is measured in milli-international units per milliliter (mIU/ml).
- A transvaginal ultrasound should be able to see at least a gestational sac once the hCG levels have reached between 1,000 - 2,000mIU/ml. Because levels can differentiate so much and conception dating can be wrong, a diagnosis should not be made by ultrasound findings until the level has reached at least 2,000.
- A single hCG reading is not enough information for most diagnoses. When there is a question regarding the health of the pregnancy, multiple testings of hCG done a couple of days apart give a more accurate look at assessing the situation.
- hCG levels should not be used to date a pregnancy since these numbers can vary so widely.
- There are two common types of hCG tests. A qualitative hCG test just looks to see if hCG is present in the blood. A quantitative hCG test (or beta hCG) measures the amount of hCG actually present in the blood.
Guideline to hCG levels during pregnancy:
hCG levels in weeks from LMP (gestational age)* :
- 3 weeks LMP: 5 - 50 mIU/ml
- 4 weeks LMP: 5 - 426 mIU/ml
- 5 weeks LMP: 18 - 7,340 mIU/ml
- 6 weeks LMP: 1,080 - 56,500 mIU/ml
- 7 - 8 weeks LMP: 7, 650 - 229,000 mIU/ml
- 9 - 12 weeks LMP: 25,700 - 288,000 mIU/ml
- 13 - 16 weeks LMP: 13,300 - 254,000 mIU/ml
- 17 - 24 weeks LMP: 4,060 - 165,400 mIU/ml
- 25 - 40 weeks LMP: 3,640 - 117,000 mIU/ml
- Non-pregnant females: <5.0 mIU/ml
- Postmenopausal: <9.5 mIU/ml
* These numbers are just a GUIDELINE-- every woman’s level of hCG can rise differently. It is not necessarily the level that matters but rather the change in the level.
What can a low hCG level mean?
A low hCG level can mean any number of things and should be re-tested within 48-72 hours to see how the level is changing. A low hCG level could indicate:
- Miscalculation of pregnancy dating
- Possible miscarriage or blighted ovum
- Ectopic pregnancy
What can a high hCG level mean?
A high level of hCG can also mean a number of things and should be re-tested within 48-72 hours to evaluate changes in the level. A high hCG level can indicate:
- Miscalculation of pregnancy dating
- Molar pregnancy
- Multiple pregnancy
Should my hCG level be checked routinely?
It is not common for doctors to normally re-check your hCG levels unless you are showing signs of a possible problem. A health care provider may re-check your levels if you are bleeding, having severe cramping or have a history of miscarriage.
What can I expect of my hCG levels after a pregnancy loss?
Most women can expect their levels to return to a non-pregnant range about 4 - 6 weeks after a pregnancy loss has occurred. This can differentiate by how the loss occurred (spontaneous miscarriage, D & C procedure, abortion, natural delivery) and how high the levels were at the time of the loss. Health care providers usually will continue to test hCG levels after a pregnancy loss to ensure they return back to <5.0
Can anything interfere with my hCG levels?
Nothing should interfere with an hCG level except medications that contain hCG. These medications are often used in fertility treatments, and your health care provider should advise you on how they may affect a test. All other medications such as antibiotics, pain relievers, contraception or other hormone medications should not have any effect on a test that measures hCG.
Last Updated: 11/2005Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG): The Pregnancy Hormone
I tried WebMD, and got no results.
That just sounds like a test of her hCG levels which really doesn't tell us anything does it?
Actually, it says a lot if you're the interested couple or a doctor.
If she has low levels of hCG, it might indicate a miscalculation of the date of her pregnancy, a miscarriage, a blighted ovum or an ectopic pregancy.
If she had high levels of hCG, it might mean that there was a miscalculation of the date of her pregnancy dating, a molar pregnancy or a miscarriage.
Preacher,
Whatever it is, try not to get too freaked out.
I read a post on this site about a guy who was enraged at a Doctor who called his pregnant wife telling her that her baby had a birth defect. Turned out the baby was fine.
My wife just had a miscarriage, but she somehow knew from the start that something wasn't quite right.
Synopsis; Trust the Lord, and trust your life's intuition.
Scott
Synopsis; Trust the Lord, and trust your life's intuition.
I mean your WIFE's intuition.....
Scott
It's my friend's wife. The doctor just now told her the condition is called T18 but at the rate the baby is growing (they did another ultrasound) he can almost guarantee that it is a false positive.
It depends upon which test or test result she actually had. You said that you believed she had had a quad marker. In my earlier post, I posted what they look for in a quad screen, that is AFP, estriol, hCG and Inhibin.streetpreacher wrote: "...She was called in today and told by a nurse (still waiting to see a doctor) that she tested positive for TCHG, a birth defect that causes death although the test could have been a "positive negative" requiring further tests."
Did she speak with her physician at all or was it a nurse giving her bad news about the blood test results?
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