Immunochemistry, Southwest Michigan, West Michigan

Serum Viscosity Testing Update

Effective July 8, 2026, serum viscosity tests ordered and collected at Corewell Health Southwest and West Michigan will be performed at the Corewell Health Reference Laboratory East.

This change includes an updated testing methodology, transitioning from an Ostwald capillary viscometer (water comparison) to a cone-plate viscometer. The reference range will also be updated from 1.4–1.8 units to 1.0–2.0 centipoise (cP).

A small positive bias is expected with the new method; however, this will not impact patient result trending.

 

TEST INFORMATION

Viscosity, Serum [LAB7650]

June 25, 2026 by
Corewell Health System, Referral/Sendouts

Lipoprotein (a) Test Change

Effective June 3, 2026, due to vendor raw material supply shortages, all Lipoprotein (a) testing will be transitioned from in-house assay to Quest Diagnostics, Wood Dale, IL.

  Current (In-House) Quest Diagnostics
Test Name Lipoprotein (a) Lipoprotein (a)
Test code LAB1230915 LAB1232338
Preferred Specimen Type Serum Serum
Reference Range ≤30 mg/dL <75 nmol/L
Turn Around Time 2 days 4 days

.

 Quest Diagnostics Risk Stratification Risk nmol/L
Optimal <75
Moderate 75-125
High >125

NOTE: With this transition, there will be changes in reference ranges and units of measurement. The units will change from mass units (mg/dL) to molar units (nmol/L); molar units are the preferred units per the 2026 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee Guidelines. There are no changes to the specimen type. Turnaround time will be 4 days.

June 8, 2026 by
General Information

Paraneoplastic Autoantibody Evaluation

ffective June 2, 2026, Paraneoplastic Autoantibody Evaluation will no longer be offered by Mayo.  The recommended alternate test will be the Encephalitis Antibody Evaluation performed at Quest.

Due to the short notice from Mayo, the new Quest test will not be orderable so will need to be ordered as a Reference Lab Sendout for Miscellaneous Test.

The new orderable test will be available July 8, 2026.

Testing being inactivated:

Lab number Test name
LAB10022 Paraneoplastic Autoantibody Evaluation, Serum
LAB1230344

 

 Paraneoplastic Autoantibody Evaluation, CSF

 

Quest alternate testing to Order as Reference Lab Sendout for Miscellaneous

Quest Test code Quest test name
94955 Encephalitis Antibody Evaluation with reflex, Serum
94958 Encephalitis Antibody Evaluation with reflex, CSF

 

For questions regarding testing, please use the “contact us” link above.

June 3, 2026 by
Dearborn, Farmington Hills, Grosse Pointe, Royal Oak, Southeast Michigan, Taylor, Trenton, Troy, Wayne

Body Fluid Culture – Specimen Collection Update

Effective June 1, 2026, Corewell Health Microbiology Laboratory in Southeast Michigan is updating specimen collection criteria for body fluid specimens. Microbiology will no longer accept red top vacutainer tubes as a collection device for body fluids (i.e. synovial fluid, pleural fluid, peritoneal fluid, etc). Collection criteria information has been updated in Corewell’s Lab Test Directory to reflect this change. Test order for body fluid cultures is LAB2111016 (aerobic culture) and commonly accompanied by LAB233 (anaerobic culture). Continue Reading

May 22, 2026 by
Niles, Southwest Michigan, St. Joseph, Watervliet

Changes to Outpatient Occult Blood (FIT) Stool Testing (Corewell Health Southwest Region)

Effective Tuesday, May 26, 2026, outpatient occult blood testing (stool) will no longer be performed at Corewell Health Lakeland St. Joseph Laboratory and will instead be routed or mailed to Corewell Health Reference Laboratory in Grand Rapids, MI (35 Michigan St.) for processing.

In addition, the collection kits will be updated from OC-Light™ S FIT collection kits to OC-Auto™ collection kits. Continue Reading

May 21, 2026 by
Corewell Health System, Hematology

Schistocyte Review Test Now Available to Order

Effective Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Schistocyte Review (LAB1231565) will be available to order across all Corewell Health Laboratories Hematology Departments.

This new orderable supports alignment across Corewell Health regions by standardizing schistocyte assessment practices, ensuring high‑quality testing, and delivering a consistent patient care experience system‑wide.

Continue Reading

April 23, 2026 by
Blood Bank, Compliance & Safety, Corewell Health System

Reminder Pre‑Surgical Type & Screen Orders

When ordering a Pre‑surgical Type & Screen, all required order questions must be completed accurately. These answers drive specimen routing, collection timing, and blood bank workflow in Epic.

Epic uses your responses to ensure testing is performed by the correct blood bank at the correct time. Incomplete or incorrect information can result in misrouted specimens, delays, rework, or redraws.

Continue Reading

April 15, 2026 by
General Information

Updated: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Probe Panel by FISH

Effective 4/15/2026, in accordance with the 2024 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomic Technical Laboratory Standards, the Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Probe Panel by FISH will now include:

• -5/5q Deletion
• -7/7q Deletion
• RUNX1::RUNX1T1 t(8;21) Fusion
• NUP98 (11p15.4) Rearrangement
• KMT2A (MLL) (11q23) Rearrangement
• CBFB::MYH11 inv(16) and t(16;16) Fusion
• TP53 (17p13.1) Deletion

The panel will no longer include BCR::ABL t(9;22) and PML::RARA t(15;17). These tests may still be ordered independently.

Additional Resource Link: ACMG Technical Standard Section E6.1-6.6 of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Technical Laboratory Standards: Cytogenomic studies of acquired chromosomal abnormalities in neoplastic blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes (https://www.gimjournal.org/article/S1098-3600(23)01070-5/fulltext)

Epic Code: LAB2111348

April 6, 2026 by