Dear Healthcare Provider,
The information contained here may be very important to your practice. Please take a moment to review this document.
Potassium Reference Range Update
January 2021
Alverno Laboratories has updated its reference range for potassium. The new range will account for serum and plasma
sample collections. Please note the new reference range listed below.
Hepatitis Immunosuppressive Screen
February 9, 2021
Alverno Laboratories is pleased to announce a specialized hepatitis panel designed to assess candidates for and recipients
of immunosuppressive therapy. The panel has been designed in accordance with CDC guidelines for testing. Please see
page 2 for details.
Coagulation Therapy Effects on aPTT Assays
February 2021
It has been well noted that intervening coagulant therapeutics have some effect on aPTT assays. Emicizumab, the new drug
treatment for hemophilia A, can also be added to this growing list of drugs. Please see page 3 for further information and details.
Microbiology Testing Updates
New MIC Breakpoints and Automated Yeast Susceptibility
February 2021
Alverno’s Microbiology Department is moving to the new CLSI interpretation and MIC breakpoints for Meropenem, Daptomycin, Aztreonam and the Cephalosporins. Please see pages 4 and 5 for more information.
Hepatitis Immunosuppressive Screen
February 9, 2021
Alverno Laboratories is pleased to announce a specialized hepatitis panel designed to assess candidates for and recipients of immunosuppressive therapy. The panel has been designed in accordance with CDC guidelines for testing. Please see the panel information below.
Coagulation Therapy Effects on aPTT Assays
February 2021
It has been well noted that intervening coagulant therapeutics have some effect on aPTT assays. Emicizumab, the new drug treatment for hemophilia A, can also be added to this growing list of drugs. Emicizumab will falsely decrease the aPTT clotting time, giving the potential for a false normal value in a hemophilia A patient. For patients taking emicizumab, aPTT results may not be accurate for up to six months after discontinuation of the medication. Along with emicizumab, there are several other coagulation therapeutics that may influence the aPTT assay. Below is a table of commonly used therapies and their effects on the aPTT assay.
Microbiology Testing Updates New MIC Breakpoints and Automated Yeast Susceptibility
February 2021
Alverno’s Microbiology Department is moving to the new CLSI interpretation and MIC breakpoints for Meropenem, Daptomycin, Aztreonam and the Cephalosporins. Please see the tables comparing the previous breakpoints to the new on the next page. Meropenem and Daptomycin updates are in place. The Aztreonam and Cephalosporin changes are scheduled for February 9.
Alverno has also moved to automated yeast susceptibility testing for Candida species. This will reduce the turnaround time by 24 hours. MIC values and interpretations for Micafungin, Caspofungin, Fluconazole and Voriconazole will be reported using the BioMerieux VITEK® 2 analyzer. All four antifungal susceptibilities will be reported, when appropriate, on Candida species with the following exceptions:
New MIC Breakpoints
MEROPENEM
- Enterobacteriaceae
- Non-Enterobacteriaceae
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Acinetobacter spp.
- Burkholderia cepacia complex
DAPTOMYCIN
Enterococcus spp.
Enterococcus faecium only
Enterococcus spp other than E. faecium
CEPHALOSPORINS
- Non-Urine Specimen
- Urine Specimen
