Specimen

Serum

Collection Medium:

Minimum:

Preferred Adult Minimum: 2.0 mL serum from royal blue
  (no additive) tube
Absolute Pediatric Minimum 0.5 mL serum from royal blue
 (no additive) tube

Rejection Criteria:

Specimens collected in tube other than royal blue (no additive); 
hemolyzed specimens

Analytic Time:

3 days

Reference Range:

60-120 mcg/dL

Comments:

Royal Blue trace metal tube available from Specimen Control, 6240 RCP.

Test
Limitations:

Circulating zinc concentrations are dependent on albumin status and are 
depressed with malnutrition.  Zinc may also be lowered with infection, 
inflammation, stress, oral contraceptives, and pregnancy.  Zinc may be 
elevated with zinc supplementation or fasting.  Elevated zinc 
concentrations may interfere with copper absorption.

Elevated results from noncertified trace element-free tubes may be due 
to contamination.  Elevated concentrations of trace elements in serum 
should be confirmed with a second specimen collected in a trace 
element-free tube, such as royal blue sterile tube (no additive).

Methodology:

Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry

CPT Code:

84630