1-5 days after setup at PeaceHealth Laboratories’ reference lab
CPT Code:
84260-90
Specimen Collection Details
Collection:
One 7.5 mL serum separator tube (SST). Patient should abstain from medications for 72 hours prior to collection.
Handling:
Allow to clot, centrifuge and immediately separate serum from cells. Freeze. Allow no more than one freeze/thaw cycle. If multiple tests are ordered, send separate specimen for this test.
Stability:
24 hours refrigerated or 1 month frozen. Specimen unstable ambient.
Standard Volume:
1 mL serum.
Minimum Volume:
300 µL serum.
Transport:
Frozen on dry ice.
Comments:
Medications that may affect serotonin concentrations include lithium, MAO inhibitors, methyldopa, morphine, and reserpine. In general, foods that contain serotonin do not interfere significantly. Slight increases may be seen in acute intestinal obstruction, acute MI, cystic fibrosis, dumping syndromes, and nontropical sprue. Metastasizing abdominal carcinoid tumors often show serotonin concentrations greater than 400 ng/mL.
Rejection Criteria:
Specimen frozen and thawed more than once; non-frozen specimen; specimen frozen in glass.