Specimen Requirements
Title
Carotene, Beta
Specimen Requirement
12 hour fasting preferred.
Begin with a SST tube covered with foil or a glove to protect from light during collection, after 30 minutes of clotting, promptly centrifuge, transfer serum to an amber screw top plastic vial, indicate sample type on tube and send.
Protect from light during entire collection.
Methodology
High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)
Stability
Room temp: 14 days, Refrigerated: 14 days, Frozen: 14 days
Reference Range
The reference range is determined by the performing laboratory and will show on the report.
Turnaround
3-6 days
Clinical Use
Confirm the diagnosis of carotenoderma; detect fat malabsorption; depressed carotene levels may be found in cases of steatorrhea.
Test Code
CARO