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Test Code TSH TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)

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

Additional Codes

TSHS

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Serum

Preferred Specimen: Red Top

Other Acceptable specimens: Serum/Gold Top, Plasma/Li-Heparin Mint Green Top, Plasma/Lavendar K2 Top, Plasma/Lavendar K3 Top

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: 

Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. 

 

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 plastic transport tube containing a minimum of 0.2 mL of specimen.
  • Samples must be sent room temperature at 15-25oC.

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
TSH 0 - 5 days ALL 0.7 - 15.2 uIU/mL
TSH 6 days - 2 months ALL 0.7 - 11.0 uIU/mL
TSH 3 - 11 months ALL 0.7 - 8.1 uIU/mL
TSH 1 - 5 years ALL 0.7 - 6.0 uIU/mL
TSH 6 - 10 years ALL 0.6 - 4.8 uIU/mL
TSH 11 - 18 years ALL 0.5 - 4.3 uIU/mL
TSH >18 years ALL 0.3 - 4.0 uIU/mL

Critical Values

Analyte

Unit

Low

High

Age

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

CPT Codes

84443

LOINC Codes

3016-3

Volume

Preferred Volume: 0.5 mL

Minimum Volume: 0.2 mL

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

8 days

Refrigerated

14 days

Frozen

24 months

Collection Instructions

Collect specimen per standard laboratory collection procedures. 

 

Test Components

TSH

Clinical Indications

TSH serves as the initial test in thyroid diagnostics.

Methodology

Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA)

Additional Information

  • Results should always be assessed in conjunction with patient's medical history, clinical examination and other findings.
  • The presence of autoantibodies may induce high molecular weight complexes (macro-TSH) which may cause unexpected high values of TSH.

Turnaround Time

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

 

STAT Turnaround Time: 1 hour

Routine Turnaround Time: 4 hours

Testing Schedule: 24/7

Synonyms/Keyword Search

Thyrotropin, TSH-3

Last Review Date

7/19/2024