Use of a spot test for chloride in cervical mucus for self-detection of the fertile phase in women.

Use of a spot test for chloride in cervical mucus for self-detection of the fertile phase in women is described. 50 cycles in 11 women with apparently normal menstruation were studied by basal body temperatures (BBT) karyopyknotic index (KPI) and chloride spot test. Whatman filter paper was prepared by immersion in solutions of silver nitrate and potassium chormate. The paper was then washed and dried. Cervical mucus was spotted daily on the paper and the dried spots were compared with a set of standards to estimate the chloride content. The differentiation between high and low concentrations were called positve and negative respectively. Significant correlations between the day of the 1st positive spot and that of the highest KPI length of luteal phase and length of the whole cycle were found (p less than .001). Anov ulatory patients treated with gonadotropins showed a positive chloride spot when their ovaries responded to follicle-stimulating hormone. This test shows promise as an aid for indicating the imminence of ovulation in women desiring conception.