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The University of Chicago Medicine Laboratories

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Mayo Clinic Laboratories

Test Code INSLN Insulin

Important Note

This test may be affected by biotin interference. Patients on high dose biotin (5mg/day or more) should not have samples drawn until at least 24 hours after the last biotin administration.

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Serum

Preferred Specimen: Red Top

Other Acceptable specimens: Serum/Gold Top, Plasma/Li-Heparin Mint Green Top

Volume

Preferred Volume: 0.5 mL

Minimum Volume: 0.2 mL

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room Temperature

4 hours

Refrigerated

2 Days

Frozen*

6 Months

*Freeze only once

 

Collection Instructions

Collect specimen per standard laboratory collection procedures. Fasting (8-14 hours) sample is recommeded.

 

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: 

  • Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. Fasting (8-14 hours) sample is recommeded.

 

UCMC Offsite and UC MedLab Outreach Instructions: 

  • Samples should be centrifuged within 2 hours of collection.
  • Centrifuge specimens at >2500 x g for 10 minutes at room temperature.
  • Aliquot sample into a plastic tubes containing a minimum of 0.2 mL of specimen.
  • Samples must then be sent refrigerated at 2-8oC.

Rejection Criteria

  • Common specimen rejected situations include: incorrect specimen type, insufficient volume, missing or incomplete specimen identifiers, incorrect specimen transport, or specimens outside stability limits. 
  • Specimens that are clotted or grossly hemolyzed.
  • Specimens that were transported unspun/whole blood and draw time is greater than 6 hours

Reference Values

Test

Age

Sex

Reference Range

Insulin

All

All

<28.5 µIU/mL

Note: Reference ranges are based on in-house studies performed at the University of Chicago Medicine by the Clinical Chemistry Laboratories per the Roche cobas 8000 modular analyzer series e801 System Installation Workbook and the e801 Insulin product insert.

Critical Values

Analyte

Unit

Low

High

Age

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Turnaround Time

Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory. 

 

STAT Turnaround Time: Not available as STAT test

Routine Turnaround Time: up to 4 hours

Testing Schedule:  24/7

Clinical Indications

Useful for monitoring and diagnosing diabetes, isulin-secreting pancreatic tumors, and in the evaluation and management of patients with the polycystic ovary syndrome.

Test Components

Insulin

Methodology

Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) (Roche Diagnostics)

CPT Codes

83525

LOINC Codes

27873-9

Synonyms/Keyword Search

N/A

Additional Information

  • Results should always be assessed in conjunction with patient's medical history, clinical examination and other findings.
  • Circulating anti-insulin antibodies are often found in patients who have been treated with nonhuman forms of insulin. If present, these antibodies may interfere with the assay.
  • For individuals who are significantly overweight, fasting insulin levels are typically somewhat higher than for adults of normal weight.

Last Review Date

5/30/25