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The "hook effect" causing a negative pregnancy test in a patient with an advanced molar pregnancy
Abigail D Winder1, Adria Suarez Mora1, Emily Berry1
1John I. Brewer Trophoblastic Disease Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
Gynecologic Oncology Reports
|June 28, 2017
Abstract:
•At high hCG levels in molar pregnancies, a "hook effect" can cause an artificially negative value.•Delay in diagnosis of a molar pregnancy due to the "hook effect" can lead to severe complications.•Suspicion of a molar pregnancy should be communicated so a diluted sample is used to quantify hCG.

