URINARY PREGNANEDIOL DETERMINATION AS A TEST OF PREGNANCY*

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Abstract
IN 1936 Venning and Browne (1) described the isolation of a water-soluble pregnanediol complex from human pregnancy urine. In 1937 Venning, Henry and Browne (2) described the measurement of this complex and the same year Venning (3) published a gravimetric method for determination of sodium pregnanediol glucuronidate in urine, and presented evidence of its metabolism from progesterone. Venning and Browne (4) and Venning, Henry and Browne (5), using this procedure, reported the presence of significant amounts of the complex in urine from women in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Subsequently, these workers and many others using the same procedure, investigated the urinary excretion of sodium pregnanediol glucuronidate in pregnant and nonpregnant women (6–18). Urinary sodium pregnanediol glucuronidate levels were reported to be of value in the diagnosis of pregnancy, of threatened abortion, and determination of the date of ovulation, all states reflecting a change in luteal activity. Since Venning's method has been reported inaccurate for small amounts of sodium pregnanediol glucuronidate (19), its application to subjects during the menstrual cycle is of doubtful value; moreover, the estimation then requires the collection of a 24-hour and preferably a 48-hour specimen of urine, with increasing opportunity for hydrolysis of the water-soluble complex.

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