AACC Guidance Document on the Use of Point-of-Care Testing in Fertility and Reproduction. J Appl Lab Med 2022 Sep 01;7(5):1202-1236
Date
09/02/2022Pubmed ID
36047824DOI
10.1093/jalm/jfac042Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85137138395 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 2 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: The AACC Academy revised the reproductive testing section of the Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines: Evidence-Based Practice for Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) published in 2007.
METHODS: A panel of Academy members with expertise in POCT and laboratory medicine was formed to develop guidance for the use of POCT in reproductive health, specifically ovulation, pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes (PROM), and high-risk deliveries. The committee was supplemented with clinicians having Emergency Medicine and Obstetrics/Gynecology training.
RESULTS: Key recommendations include the following. First, urine luteinizing hormone (LH) tests are accurate and reliable predictors of ovulation. Studies have shown that the use of ovulation predicting kits may improve the likelihood of conception among healthy fertile women seeking pregnancy. Urinary LH point-of-care testing demonstrates a comparable performance among other ovulation monitoring methods for timing intrauterine insemination and confirming sufficient ovulation induction before oocyte retrieval during in vitro fertilization. Second, pregnancy POCT should be considered in clinical situations where rapid diagnosis of pregnancy is needed for treatment decisions, and laboratory analysis cannot meet the required turnaround time. Third, PROM testing using commercial kits alone is not recommended without clinical signs of rupture of membranes, such as leakage of amniotic fluid from the cervical opening. Finally, fetal scalp lactate is used more than fetal scalp pH for fetal acidosis due to higher success rate and low volume of sample required.
CONCLUSIONS: This revision of the AACC Academy POCT guidelines provides recommendations for best practice use of POCT in fertility and reproduction.
Author List
Nichols JH, Ali M, Anetor JI, Chen LS, Chen Y, Collins S, Das S, Devaraj S, Fu L, Karon BS, Kary H, Nerenz RD, Rai AJ, Shajani-Yi Z, Thakur V, Wang S, Yu HYE, Zamora LEAuthor
Robert D. Nerenz PhD Associate Professor in the Pathology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
FemaleFertility
Humans
Point-of-Care Testing
Pregnancy
Reproduction
