Alverno Laboratories
Clinical Test Bulletins

May 2021 Test Bulletin

by | May 18, 2021 | Clinical Test Bulletins

May 2021 Test Bulletin

Dear Healthcare Provider,

The information contained here may be very important to your practice. Please take a moment to review this document.

Malaria Rapid Screen with Smear Confirmation

June 2021

Alverno’s Microbiology Department will be expanding our malaria testing options to include a rapid antigen screen with smear confirmation. Initial screening by malaria antigen will be reported within 24 hours. Malarial smear confirmation results will be reported when completed. In the event the antigen and smear results are discordant, the sample will be sent to ARUP for PCR detection and speciation.

Sample Type: Whole Blood in EDTA and 5 Thin Smear Slides
Sample Stability: Whole Blood, 3 Days Refrigerated; Slides, 7 Days Room Temperature
Transport: Whole Blood, Refrigerated Slides, Room Temperature
CPT Codes: 87899, 87207

Positive Report Example

may 2021 alverno test bulletin

Estradiol Results Notification Letter

May 2021

Alverno Laboratories recently received notification from our vendor partner regarding a potential interference that may affect estradiol results. Patient results between October 22, 2019, and April 2021 may be impacted. Included with this letter is a list of your patients who were tested during this time frame.

Issue and Impact:

  • Potential for bidirectional interference affecting samples containing elevated levels of estrone or estrone-3-sulfate.
  • Estradiol supplements may elevate estrone and estrone-3-sulfate concentrations to levels that are higher than those observed under typical clinical conditions.
  • Test results for estradiol may be either falsely increased or falsely decreased if they are measured after a patient receives estradiol supplements, the magnitude of which depends on the concentration of estrone, estrone-3-sulfate, and estradiol present in the sample.
  • Results obtained from adults and adolescents with typical estrone and estrone-3-sulfate levels are not impacted.

Recommended Action:

  • Do not use results from October 22, 2019, to April 2021 to monitor the effectiveness of estradiol supplements.
  • Consider the patient’s total clinical presentation when interpreting results.

Alternate tests, if results are not consistent with accompanying clinical evidence, are the following:

  • ESTDL – Estradiol by Tandem Mass Spectrometry
  • ESTFX – Estrogens Fractionated

Moving forward, patient results will include the following comment: “The Access Sensitive Estradiol assay results are not intended to be used to measure the effectiveness of exogenous estradiol supplementation. Test results may be either falsely increased or falsely decreased if they are measured after a patient receives estradiol supplements. Consider the patient’s total clinical presentation when interpreting results.”