neg qualitative, pos quantative???

kwitz97 · 04-17-2009, 10:56 AM

Can you have a neg qualitative blood test and a positive quantative blood test. I just got mine back...I am 5 days late, feel very pregnant but got a neg qualitative test..(not sure why they didn't order a quantative).

Any thoughts are very appreciated!!!

Karen (30) Asherman's
DH (25) PERFECT

MommieAbbie · 04-20-2009, 07:24 PM

No, a negative qual means there was no hCG detected in the blood. That means if you had a quant done, the result would be 0. The baby may not have implanted yet if you ovulated late, so wait another week and if no AF, go back for another test. They probably did a qual because it's cheaper.

jpper · 11-14-2009, 09:45 PM

I am not sure exactly what sort of qualitative test you took, and what its sensitivity was. But it is very possible to get a negative qualitative test but a positive quantitative. Many qualitative tests have a certain threshold below which they cannot detect. For example, many home pregnancy tests (e.g., EPT, Clear Blue, etc.) are qualitative, meaning they do not tell you how much HCG you have, only that there is or not. Those tests cannot detect HCG levels below 20, and depending on the test, the HCG levels need to be as high as 50 before they will show up as positive.

Quantitative on the other hand, can show your levels as low as 2 or possibly less.

I was 4 days late from my expected date of menstruation and had been using home pregnancy tests (EPT and Clearblue) from several days before that expected date, since those tests are known to be able to show some percentage of pregnancies that early. All were negative. I was getting concerned so went in to get an U/S and was told my lining was only about 7mm, about half what they would expect for someone about to menstruate. When I asked if it was worth doing a quantitative blood test, I was told, not likely. But I did anyway, and it came back as 16.9! (The last time I took this test after IVF and had been bleeding, the level was 2. So I was definitely not pregnant then and taking that as my baseline, 16.9 seemed definitely encouraging!)

So yes, depending on how sensitive the qualitative was, it is definitely possible for that to come back negative while a quantitative (which is usually more sensitive) can be positive. It just might be early enough in your pregnancy that your levels haven't crossed the threshold for the qualitative to pick up.

I know this post was from a long time ago, but in similar situations, I would definitely
make them do a quantitative as early as possible. If that comes back negative, but you still don't get your period, I would go back for another repeat every 2-3 days that I didn't get my period.

04-17-2009, 10:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
kwitz97 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 3	neg qualitative, pos quantative??? Can you have a neg qualitative blood test and a positive quantative blood test. I just got mine back...I am 5 days late, feel very pregnant but got a neg qualitative test..(not sure why they didn't order a quantative). Any thoughts are very appreciated!!! Karen (30) Asherman's DH (25) PERFECT

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04-20-2009, 07:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
MommieAbbie 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 9	No, a negative qual means there was no hCG detected in the blood. That means if you had a quant done, the result would be 0. The baby may not have implanted yet if you ovulated late, so wait another week and if no AF, go back for another test. They probably did a qual because it's cheaper.

11-14-2009, 09:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
jpper 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Beijing Posts: 18	I am not sure exactly what sort of qualitative test you took, and what its sensitivity was. But it is very possible to get a negative qualitative test but a positive quantitative. Many qualitative tests have a certain threshold below which they cannot detect. For example, many home pregnancy tests (e.g., EPT, Clear Blue, etc.) are qualitative, meaning they do not tell you how much HCG you have, only that there is or not. Those tests cannot detect HCG levels below 20, and depending on the test, the HCG levels need to be as high as 50 before they will show up as positive. Quantitative on the other hand, can show your levels as low as 2 or possibly less. I was 4 days late from my expected date of menstruation and had been using home pregnancy tests (EPT and Clearblue) from several days before that expected date, since those tests are known to be able to show some percentage of pregnancies that early. All were negative. I was getting concerned so went in to get an U/S and was told my lining was only about 7mm, about half what they would expect for someone about to menstruate. When I asked if it was worth doing a quantitative blood test, I was told, not likely. But I did anyway, and it came back as 16.9! (The last time I took this test after IVF and had been bleeding, the level was 2. So I was definitely not pregnant then and taking that as my baseline, 16.9 seemed definitely encouraging!) So yes, depending on how sensitive the qualitative was, it is definitely possible for that to come back negative while a quantitative (which is usually more sensitive) can be positive. It just might be early enough in your pregnancy that your levels haven't crossed the threshold for the qualitative to pick up. I know this post was from a long time ago, but in similar situations, I would definitely make them do a quantitative as early as possible. If that comes back negative, but you still don't get your period, I would go back for another repeat every 2-3 days that I didn't get my period.