| Abstract: | The concentration of human placental lactogen (HPL), in serum was measured in venous and capillary blood from 31 pregnant women. 14 women had uncomplicated pregnancies. The others had complications including preeclampsia, intrauterine growth retardation, and severe edema. The correlation between values of HPL in venous and capillary blood was high. In all cases the clinical information obtained on placental function was the same, whether HPL was measured in venous or capillary blood. The day-to-day variability was of the same order for capillary as for venous samples. It is concluded that capillary blood may well be used for measurement of HPL in pregnant women. Capillary blood could replace venous blood for measurement of HPL in the supervision of pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia or intrauterine growth retardation. |
