Effective Tuesday, September 7, 2010, there will be changes to the "MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SCREEN (BLOOD & CSF) PANEL" (Epic # LAB7436). The first main change is that the oligoclonal banding analysis will be done in the Immunopathology laboratory by a more sensitive technology (isoelectric focusing followed by immunofixation). The second main change is that the analysis of IgG and albumin concentrations (in serum and CSF) and calculation of CSF indices will all be done by a reference laboratory (ARUP Laboratories) instead of split between the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics core laboratory and ARUP.

The practical implication in viewing results in Epic is that all results will be retrievable in Chart Review under a single test name ("MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SCREEN") instead of the five separate test names that results currently go to. In Results Review, the results will be grouped under "MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SCREEN" and include eight numeric results and then a field ("ISO-ELECTRIC FOCUS") that can be double-clicked to reveal the oligoclonal banding results and pathologist interpretative comments.

Questions should be directed to Matthew Krasowski, MD, PhD, medical director of the Clinical Chemistry (384-9380, matthew-krasowski@uiowa.edu).