Corewell Health Laboratories no longer offers Covid collection observations or collections at any of our draw sites/laboratories.
If your patient is experiencing symptoms and requires a Covid test, please choose one of the options below:
Browsing Category
Main lab
The management of sinusitis is often aided by bacterial and fungal cultures from which Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and occasionally aerobic Gram-negative bacilli are the most commonly recovered pathogenic organisms. The Corewell Health West Microbiology Lab has several orders available for culturing sinus specimens collected as fluid aspirates, tissue, or swabs. Though more challenging to collect, aspirates are preferred over swab cultures that often grow mixed normal upper respiratory flora for which it is difficult to interpret the clinical significance.
| Available Sinus Culture Orders | Default Specimen Type | Comments |
| Body Fluid Culture [LAB2111016]
Respiratory Culture [LAB3095] Tissue Culture [LAB2111173] |
Aspirated fluid
Swabbed collection Tissue |
For aerobic bacteria |
| Fungal Culture [LAB240] | Aspirated fluid or tissue, preferred
Swabbed collection |
For fungal organisms |
| Anaerobic Culture [LAB233] | Aspirated fluid or tissue* | For anaerobic bacteria |
Education & Training, General Information, Immunochemistry, Test Utilization
Webinar: Optimizing Care of the Respiratory Patient – The Role of Specific IgE Testing
It’s the season of sunshine and blooms which also means it can be a season of sneezing, itching, and a lot of trouble getting a good breath in for some.
⇒Are you prepared to meet the needs of your patients that may be suffering from some of these symptoms?
⇒Are you well versed in the difference between a sensitivity and a clinical allergy and how you can differentiate between the two?
⇒Do you know the resources we have at Corewell Health to assist in these determinations?
Tissue specimens less than 0.1cm may yield insufficient results if submitted for Tissue Pathology. To make the best use of diagnostic tissue material please follow the below guidelines:
| Biopsy Size | Order Code | Test | Preservative |
| <0.1cm | LAB2111263 | Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) Cytology | *CytoLyt solution |
| >0.1cm | LAB8 | Tissue Pathology | 10% Formalin |
*Place entire specimen in CytoLyt. Do not attempt to make smears from specimen.
Please contact the Corewell Health Pathology Department at (616)267-2622 Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm, or the Corewell Health Laboratory Call Center at (616)774-7721, 24/7 to speak with a Pathologist.
Chemistry, General Information, Test Spotlight
Microalbumin/Creatinine, Random Urine Result Comment Update
Effective January 4, 2023, the process for reporting the Microalbumin/Creatinine ratio was changed for situations where one of the results, microalbumin and/or creatinine, is below or above the assay’s analytical measuring range (AMR).
Effective February 28th, 2023, Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy Level (25-OH Vitamin D) [LAB535] will be replaced by 25-Hydroxyvitamin Level D2 and D3 [LAB1230925]. Send out testing for 25-Hydroxyvitamin D2 and D3, Serum [LAB1230428] to Mayo will be discontinued. The testing methodology will change from an immunoassay to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
The new test will include concentrations for
- 25-hydroxyvitamin D2
- 25-hydroxyvitamin D3
- 25-hydroxyvitamin D Total
Corewell Health Laboratory (Grand Rapids) Coagulation laboratory is pleased to announce a change to our von Willebrand factor (VWF) activity test. The historical test von Willebrand ristocetin cofactor (LAB335) will be retired and replaced by von Willebrand factor activity (VWF activity, LAB1230904) on January 17, 2023.
Compliance & Safety, Education & Training, General Information, Main lab, Test Utilization
Inform: RSV Testing – Age Restrictions
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) primarily infects pediatric patients, but occasionally infects adults and may be of particular concern for the elderly and immunocompromised. Corewell Health Laboratories offers two tests for RSV. A rapid antigen test may be used to confirm RSV diagnosis in pediatric patients. This test is not approved by the FDA for testing adult patients, so tests will be cancelled if ordered on an off-label age group. There are no age restrictions for RSV testing by way of a molecular panel that also includes COVID and influenza as viruses with overlapping symptoms.
| Test name | Epic Test ID | Methodology | Specimen | Age restriction |
| RSV Rapid | LAB495 | Antigen | Nasopharyngeal (NP) swab | Approved for patients 0 – 18 years of age |
| COVID, Influenza, RSV PCR | LAB1230746 | Molecular/PCR | Nasopharyngeal (NP) swab | No age restriction |
Starting November 29th, 2022, Corewell Health West, Hematology Laboratories will begin reporting absolute counts for white blood cell (WBC) manual differentials, in addition to relative (percentage) counts. The WBC differential count determines the number of each type of white blood cell present in the blood. It can be expressed as a percentage or as an absolute value. Of these, the absolute value is much more important than the relative value, given that clinically relevant WBC elevations and declines are defined by their absolute numbers, not by their relative proportions, and there is potential for error if this conversion is performed outside the laboratory.
Effective November 21, 2022, the following changes will be made to Meconium Drug Testing (LAB479).
- The cutoff for positivity for the opiate drug class (codeine, morphine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and oxymorphone) will increase to 20 ng/g from 10 ng/g.
- The format of reporting will be updated to include discrete reporting fields for all tested analytes. Positive results will no longer be denoted via comments.