Special Chemistry is a subsection of the Chemistry Laboratory of the Division of Clinical Pathology in the Department of Pathology at the University Medical Center. It encompasses electrophoresis, urine chemistry, and radioimmunoassay.
Location: Special Chemistry is located on the first floor of the hospital, room S103-09.
Telephone: Exts. 42359, 43272, 43269
Any inquiries pertaining to this section should be directed to the following:
- William Daley, MD, Director…………………...…………………… Ext. 42374
- Patrick Kyle, PhD, Associate Director ............................................Ext. 42352
- Teresa Preuss, MA, MT (ASCP), Chief Technologists ............... Ext. 42881
- Marcia Moore, BS MT(AMT), MT Supervisor ................................ Ext. 42359
Hours of Operation: Special Chemistry is staffed eight hours a day, five days a week in electrophoresis and urine chemistry. The radioimmunoassay area is staffed eight hours a day, seven days a week. Testing is not performed at night. Tests run routinely on the weekend are limited to thyroid testing, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus and 12 hour urine hypertension panel.
Consultations: If any problems should arise, or any special circumstances occur, please contact one of the following:
- William Daley, MD, Director………………………… Extension 42374
- Patrick Kyle, PhD, Associate Director......................Extension 42352
The pathology staff and residents are available 24 hours/day for problems. See current monthly call schedule for after hours, weekends, and holidays.
Emergency Requests: When specimens are received they are batched, and tests are run at least twice a week depending on workload. Cyclosporines, tacrolimus, sirolimus, 12 hour urine hypertension panel, and thyroid tests are run daily, and alpha-fetoproteins, cortisol, CA-125, CEA and PSA are run five times a week. No stat testing is routinely done in Special Chemistry. If a test result is needed on an emergency basis, arrangements can be made by consulting the pathologist.
Reference Section:
Notice to all outreach facilities: The proper preservation of specimens is critical to accurate measurement. If your facility (by virtue of its location) will be sending specimens to UMC for arrival in excess of the time defined in the Laboratory Handbook for processing, you will need to prepare and store the specimen in a different manner and contact the specific lab for special instructions. For the Special Chemistry section the following are the most common tests in this lab requiring special preparation and preservation when there is a delay arriving in the UMC main laboratory.
- CH5O - As soon as specimen is clotted, spin and separate. Freeze serum at –20°C if it will arrive at UMC lab within 24 hours of draw. If not, freeze serum at –70°C.
- C3 - As soon as specimen is clotted, spin and separate. Freeze serum at –20°C if it will arrive at UMC lab within 24 hours of draw. If not, freeze serum at –70°C.
- C4 - As soon as specimen is clotted, spin and separate. Freeze serum at –20°C if it will arrive at UMC lab within 24 hours of draw. If not, freeze serum at –70°C.
- ACTH - Spin and separate. Freeze plasma at –20°C if it will arrive at UMC lab within 24 hours of draw. If not, freeze plasma at –70°C.
- PTH -EDTA plasm- spin and separate as soon as possible. Freeze plasma at -20 ° C if it will arrive at UMC lab within 24 hours of draw; if not, freeze plasma at -70 ° C.
- Homocysteine - Store in refrigerator up to 6 hours. If specimen will not arrive at UMC lab until after 6 hours, it must be spun down, separated from cells, and serum stored in refrigerator.
- AFPOBs - Draw in serum separator tubes or remove serum from clot. Store in refrigerator.
- Random sample CATs, METs & VMAs - Acidify with 6N HCl to a pH of 1-3 right after collection.
- Tacrolimus - Refrigerate until delivery.
- Cyclosporine - Refrigerate until delivery.
- Sirolimus- Refrigerate until delivery
Collection of Specimens Requiring Special Additives:
Special collection protocols, as outlined in this handbook, must be followed for 24 hour urine chemistries. The preservatives required for a particular test are listed under each 24 hour urine chemistry test. Inappropriate preservatives, and/or incorrect collection, are causes for rejection.