Question

A medical assistant reviews the results of a urine pregnancy test and sees that a blue line did not appear in the control area. What does this indicate?

1) The test is invalid and needs to be repeated
2) The test is positive for pregnancy
3) The test is negative for pregnancy
4) The test result cannot be determined

Answer 1

An absent blue line in the control area of a urine pregnancy test signifies that the test is invalid and must be redone to verify the results.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a blue line did not appear in the control area of a urine pregnancy test, this indicates that the test is invalid and needs to be repeated. The presence of a control line in a lateral flow pregnancy test is critical because it confirms that the test is functioning correctly. The control line binds any beads, including those not bound with antigens, hence confirming the test's functionality. Without the control line appearing, one cannot determine whether the test was capable of detecting the presence of the pregnancy-related hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), in the urine.