Specimen:

Serum

Collection Medium:

Minimum:

Adult preferred minimum:  1.0 mL serum
Adult absolute minimum: 0.5 mL serum
Pediatric Minimum:  0.1 mL serum

Rejection Criteria:

Severely lipemic, icteric, contaminated, heat-inactivated, or hemolyzed 
specimens

Delivery Instructions:

Deliver to laboratory immediately after collection.

Analytic Time:

1 week

Reference Range:

0.90 ISR or less: Negative - No significant level of detectable 
varicella-zoster virus IgM antibody.

0.91-1.09 ISR: Equivocal - Repeat testing in 10-14 days may be helpful.

1.10 ISR or greater: Positive - Significant level of detectable 
varicella-zoster virus IgM antibody. Indicative of current or recent 
infection.  However, low levels of IgM antibodies may occasionally 
persist for more than 12 months post-infection or immunization.

Comments:

Please mark specimen plainly as "acute" or "convalescent."

Methodology:

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

CPT Code:

86787

See Additional Information:
Specimens Requiring Immediate Delivery