17-OH Progesterone Test Price in Pakistan: PKR 3,200

17-OHP is a substance your adrenal glands make, the two small organs that sit on top of each kidney. MedlinePlus explains that your adrenal glands normally use 17-OHP to make cortisol, the hormone that helps control your energy levels, blood glucose, blood pressure and your body's response to stress, illness and injury. This test measures how much 17-OHP is in your blood. It costs PKR 3,200 at Chughtai Lab through Marham.

Why You Were Probably Asked for This Test

Most adults who book this test in Pakistan are not being investigated for a rare genetic disease. They are women being worked up for irregular periods and unwanted hair growth.

MedlinePlus lists exactly this use: helping rule out congenital adrenal hyperplasia in women who have symptoms such as large amounts of facial hair and irregular menstrual periods, noting these symptoms can also be caused by other conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome.

That is the whole point of the test in this setting. PCOS and the mild form of CAH look very similar from the outside. They are managed differently, so the doctor needs to know which one it is. A normal 17-OHP points away from CAH and leaves PCOS as the likelier explanation. It is a test that rules something out rather than one that finds something.

What CAH Actually Is

MedlinePlus describes congenital adrenal hyperplasia as a group of uncommon inherited disorders affecting how well the adrenal glands make cortisol. People with CAH have a gene change causing a lack of an enzyme the adrenal glands need.

The most common type involves an enzyme called 21-hydroxylase, which helps the adrenal glands turn 17-OHP into cortisol. Without enough of it, MedlinePlus explains, the glands struggle to make cortisol, work harder, become enlarged, and produce abnormally high levels of 17-OHP. The backed-up 17-OHP is then used to make larger than normal amounts of male sex hormones, in both sexes. That is why testosterone tests are often ordered alongside this one.

Classic and Nonclassic CAH

Nonclassic CAH is the one adults are tested for. MedlinePlus lists its symptoms by group: children may show signs of early puberty, meaning sexual development before age 8 in girls and 9 in boys; teenage girls and women may have more facial and body hair than usual or a deep voice; and adults may have infertility.

For girls and women specifically, MedlinePlus also lists irregular or absent periods, thinning hair on the head especially near the temples, an enlarged clitoris and infertility. For boys and men, an enlarged penis with small testicles, low sperm count and infertility.

Reading Your Result

MedlinePlus sets out what the result means.

Your report carries the reference range used by the laboratory that ran it. Use the range printed beside your own result rather than comparing against a number from elsewhere.

If the Result Is Unclear

MedlinePlus describes a second test used when results are not clear: an ACTH stimulation test, which measures cortisol and 17-OHP before and after an injection of ACTH, the hormone that triggers the adrenal glands to make cortisol.

The pattern is what matters. MedlinePlus explains that in someone with CAH, the ACTH injection makes 17-OHP rise a great deal while cortisol does not rise. If your doctor has asked for this, it is a follow up rather than a repeat.

Newborn Screening

MedlinePlus notes that 17-OHP testing is used to check all newborns for severe CAH, and that newborn screening cannot detect the mild nonclassic form.

One timing detail matters: MedlinePlus states the test is most accurate when done more than 24 hours after birth, and that if a baby is tested sooner, parents should ask the provider whether a second test should be done later.

Symptoms of severe CAH in a baby usually begin within days or weeks of birth. MedlinePlus lists lack of energy, vomiting and other feeding problems, diarrhoea, dehydration, and failure to thrive. Those are reasons to see a doctor urgently rather than to book a test and wait.

How to Prepare

No special preparation is needed. You do not need to fast.

What Happens During the Test

For adults and older children, a trained phlebotomist takes a small blood sample from a vein in your arm using a small needle. MedlinePlus notes it usually takes less than five minutes and you may feel a little sting. For a newborn, the heel is cleaned and pricked to collect a few drops of blood.

اردو میں

سترہ او ایچ پروجیسٹرون ایک مادہ ہے جو گردوں کے اوپر موجود ایڈرینل غدود بناتے ہیں۔ جسم اسے کورٹیسول ہارمون بنانے کے لیے استعمال کرتا ہے۔

پاکستان میں یہ ٹیسٹ زیادہ تر ان خواتین کا کروایا جاتا ہے جنہیں ماہواری بے قاعدہ ہو اور چہرے یا جسم پر غیر معمولی بال ہوں۔ ان علامات کی دو وجوہات ہو سکتی ہیں، پی سی او ایس یا ایک موروثی کیفیت جسے سی اے ایچ کہتے ہیں۔ دونوں کا علاج مختلف ہے، اسی لیے ڈاکٹر یہ ٹیسٹ کرواتے ہیں تاکہ فرق معلوم ہو سکے۔

اگر رپورٹ نارمل آئے تو عام طور پر سی اے ایچ کا امکان کم ہو جاتا ہے اور ڈاکٹر پی سی او ایس کی طرف دیکھتے ہیں۔ اگر مقدار زیادہ ہو تو مزید ٹیسٹ کیے جاتے ہیں۔

نوزائیدہ بچوں میں یہ ٹیسٹ پیدائش کے چوبیس گھنٹے بعد زیادہ درست ہوتا ہے۔ اگر بچے میں سستی، قے، دست، یا وزن نہ بڑھنے کی شکایت ہو تو فوراً ڈاکٹر سے رجوع کریں۔

ٹیسٹ سے پہلے بھوکا رہنے کی ضرورت نہیں۔ اس ٹیسٹ کی قیمت بتیس سو روپے ہے۔

Final Thoughts

If this test was ordered alongside an irregular periods or unwanted hair investigation, it is there to separate PCOS from the mild inherited condition that mimics it. A normal result is useful information rather than a wasted test, because it closes off one explanation and points your doctor at the other. Take the report back to the doctor who ordered it, along with any testosterone or hormone results requested at the same time, since they are read together.