Specimen Requirements
Title
Selenium
Specimen Requirement
Patient preparation:
Patient should refrain from taking vitamins or mineral supplements at least 3 days before specimen collection. Avoid worksite collection.
Specimen collection:
Collect dark blue no additive or dark blue EDTA, within 1 hour centrifuge, transfer 2.0 mL serum/plasma to a screw top plastic transport tube, indicate sample type on tube and send refrigerated.
Methodology
Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry
Stability
Room temp: 8 hours, Refrigerated: 14 days, Frozen: 30 days
Reference Range
By Report *
Turnaround
3-7 days performed Tuesday, Friday
Clinical Use
Monitoring the Selenium concentration is useful in assessing parenteral nutrition, especially recent intake. Concentrations are also monitored in children with propionic acidemia who require special diets with supplements.
Test Code
SELEN