NOTE: Viscous , heavily bloodstained, or purulent samples are not suitable for analysis.
This assay requires that serum is collected in parallel with the ?CSF sample.
This assay required both :
Ear or nasal fluid required.
AND one of the following tubes:
.
Test is performed Monday - Friday.
Samples which arrive in the lab after 1.30 PM on Friday will be processed on the following business day.
If urgent processing is required, please contact the on-call chemical pathologist via Lablink (Auckland City Hospital ext. 22000 or 09-3078995).
Beta-2 transferrin (asialotransferrin or Tau fraction of transferrin) is found in CSF, but not in normal serum or secretion fluids. Detecting this protein in fluid from nose or ear suggests the possibility of CSF leakage, e.g. in patients with skull injuries. A serum sample is required to rule out causes of false positive results.
In the method used at Labplus, the isoforms of transferrin are separated by electrophoresis followed by immunochemical staining of the bands. This procedure takes several hours to perform, and is not available after hours or on weekends.
Note that samples with a high protein content (e.g. exudates) may be uninterpretable due to the high concentration of normal transferrin.
References
1. Cerebrospinal Fluid Leakage: Agarose gel electrophoresis detection of beta-2 transferrin and Nephelometric quantification of beta-Trace protein. Clinical chemistry 50, No 12, 2004.
2. Beta-Trace Protein as a Marker for Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea. Clinical Chemistry 48, No. 6, 2002.
3. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/gl_isolation_standard.html
Emails to chemicalpathologist@adhb.govt.nz will receive priority attention from the on-call chemical pathologist.
If the query concerns a specific patient please include the NHI number in your email.
If email is not a suitable option, please contact the on-call chemical pathologist via Lablink (Auckland City Hospital ext. 22000 or 09-3078995).
Individual chemical pathologists may be contacted but will not be available at all times.
After-hours : contact Lablink (Auckland City Hospital ext. 22000 or 09-3078995) or hospital operator for on duty staff after hours.
Dr Cam Kyle (Clinical Head): CampbellK@adhb.govt.nz ext 22052
Dr Weldon Chiu: WeldonC@adhb.govt.nz ext. 23427
Dr Samarina Musaad: SamarinaM@adhb.govt.nz ext. 22402
Dr Campbell Heron : CHeron@adhb.govt.nz ext. 23427
Dr Sakunthala Jayasinghe : sakunthala@adhb.govt.nz ext. 23427
Dr Owen Yi : wenyiyi@adhb.govt.nz ext. 22045