Specimen Requirements
Title
Ammonia, Blood
Specimen Requirement
Collect lavender EDTA, transport whole blood on ice within 30 minutes. If delivery within 30 minutes is not possible, centrifuge, transfer 1.0 mL plasma to a screw top plastic vial, indicate sample type on tube and send on dry ice.
Critical frozen.
Methodology
Stability
Refrigerated: 3 hrs; Frozen: 1 day
Reference Range
By Report
Turnaround
1 day
Clinical Use
Useful in assessing some metabolic defects, liver dysfunction, and renal failure.
Test Code
NH3