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Test Code VISC Serum Viscosity

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Whole blood

Preferred Specimen: 6 red top tubes required

Other Acceptable specimens: not applicable 

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

(20 - 25°C)

 8 hours 

Refrigerated

(2 - 10°C)

 24 hours 

Frozen

(-20°C)

not acceptable

Collection Instructions

Collect specimen per standard laboratory collection procedures. 

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: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. Whole blood pecimens must be received within 2 hours. If transport is delayed, centrifuge and separate serum. Refrigerate specimens prior to transport. 

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. 
  • Frozen or heated specimens will be rejected
  • Quantity not sufficient specimens are not suitable for testing and will be rejected 

 

Reference Values

Analyte

Age

Sex

Reference Range

Serum viscosity

All

Male and female

1.4 - 1.8 relative to water

Clinical Indications

  • Measurement of serum viscosity is an important aspect of clinical management of patients with hyperviscosity syndrome.
  • Hyperviscosity syndrome can occur in association with a variety of clinical diagnoses, such as polycythemia, Waldenström macroglobulinemia, multiple myeloma, and leukemia

Methodology

Ostwald Viscosimeter 

CPT Codes

85810

LOINC Codes

VISC 3128-6

Critical Values

Not applicable

Volume

Preferred Volume: 30 mL whole blood, 7 mL of serum required 

Minimum Volume: 30 mL whole blood, 7 mL of serum required 

Test Components

Serum viscosity relative to water 

Additional Information

Not applicable

Turnaround Time

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

 

STAT Turnaround Time: 60 minutes. Call lab at 2-1314 for STAT analysis during the midnight shift. 

 

Routine Turnaround Time: 24 hours

 

Testing Schedule:  24/7

Synonyms/Search Keywords

Viscosity

Last Reviewed Date

9/5/2024