Cervical cancer screening by simple visual inspection after acetic acid.

urine as well as serum. However, if serum hCG values are less than 100 IU/L, urine levels may be too low to be detected (sensitivity commonly 25 IU/L). In this case, confirm the reality of the hCG result by testing the serum at an alternative laboratory that uses a different hCG immunoassay. In all cases, careful monitoring can avoid future erroneous diagnoses and unnecessary treatment because of false hCG results. This is a recurrent but very avoidable problem.