• Test Code:
    9016
  • Department:
  • Test Synonyms:
    Qualitative Amino Acid Screen
  • CPT Code(s):
    81002 82128 x 2 82570 82615 83866
Background:

This diagnostic panel includes a series of qualitative urine assays designed to detect a range of inborn errors of metabolism.  Panel components include mucopolysaccharide screen, qualitative amino acids, cystine screen, tyrosine metabolites, creatinine screen, and UA.

Methodology:

  • Urine dipstick for pH, glucose, ketones, protein, heme, urobilinogen, and bilirubin 
  • Qualitative assay using dinitrophenylhydrazine for maple syrup urine disease (MSUD)
  • Qualitative assay using ferric chloride for phenylketonuria (PKU)
  • Qualitative assay using cyanide-nitroprusside for detection of sulfur-containing amino acids such as homocystine or cysteine
  • Qualitative assay using Ehrlich’s aldehyde reagent for detection of porphobilinogen or urobilinogen in hereditary porphyria
  • Qualitative assay using nitrosonaphthol for detection of tyrosine metabolites in hereditary tyrosinemia or Hartnup disease
  • Qualitative assay of urine amino acids by paper chromatography

Specimen Requirements:

Urine: 10-15 mL, clean catch spot specimen or aliquot from a timed urine specimen
 
A REQUISITION FORM MUST ACCOMPANY ALL SAMPLES.  Please include detailed clinical information,  including ethnicity, clinical history, and family history.

Test Performed (Days):

Every Two Weeks

Turn Around Time:

7-14 days

Shipment Sensitivity Requirements:

  • Freeze specimen, package in styrofoam shipper with ample dry ice to keep frozen. 
  • Ship via overnight express, using the FedEx priority overnight label provided. 
  • Contact Client Services at (855) 535-1522 for shipping kits and instructions.

References:

Additional Info:

The Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University is a pioneer in the field of precision cancer medicine. The institute's director, Brian Druker, M.D., helped prove it was possible to shut down just the cells that enable cancer to grow. This breakthrough has made once-fatal forms of the disease manageable and transformed how cancer is treated. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center between Sacramento and Seattle – an honor earned only by the nation's top cancer centers. It is headquarters for one of the National Cancer Institute's largest research collaboratives, SWOG, in addition to offering the latest treatments and technologies as well as hundreds of research studies and clinical trials.

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