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Chemistry, Compliance & Safety, Education & Training, General Information, Referral/Sendouts

Preservative For 24 Hour Urine Collections

In both the inpatient and outpatient settings, the laboratory has supplied 24 hour urine containers with preservative such as acetic acid, sodium hydroxide, and boric acid.  Upon review of specimen stability requirements, it has been determined that a preservative is not needed prior to collection of most 24 hour urine tests as long as the 24 hour container is kept refrigerated or on ice during the collection period. Continue Reading

April 1, 2019 by
Chemistry, Compliance & Safety, General Information

Reference Range Update – OB Magnesium, Blood Level

Effective immediately, the OB Magnesium (Mg) reference range has been updated from 1.6 to 2.5 mg/dL to 4.8 to 8.0 mg/dL, to reflect the correct therapeutic range for patients receiving magnesium sulfate therapy. The non-OB magnesium reference range is unchanged.

Please direct questions and inquiries to Dr. Jennifer Stumph via the Contact Us link above.

TEST INFORMATION

OB Magnesium, Blood Level – Epic code #LAB3400, Interface code #11703, CPT code #83735

March 5, 2019 by
Hematology, Referral/Sendouts

Hemoglobin A1c Testing Update

For Hemoglobin A1c testing, Mayo Clinic Laboratory has switched to an Ion-Exchange High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method (Bio-RAD D100) which is the same method of A1c testing used at Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory.  They no longer offer the alternative method, boronate affinity chromatography, for A1c testing.

When A1c cannot be determined due to  interferences that affect the Bio-RAD 100 method, measurement of serum fructosamine is recommended (Mayo test FRUCT). Continue Reading

February 20, 2019 by
Microbiology, Test Utilization

Helicobacter pylori Diagnosis – Serologic Testing is no Longer Recommended

Overview

Clinical guidelines no longer recommend serologic testing as a method for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Rather than IgG serology testing, other non-invasive testing methods such as H. pylori stool antigen and urea breath tests may be used to both diagnose and monitor response to therapy for H. pylori infection. In anticipation of an increase in stool antigen testing, currently a reference lab send-out test, Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory (SHRL) will be implementing this test as of October 29, 2018. By offering this test in-house, results will typically be available one day faster than present state. Continue Reading

October 23, 2018 by