Specimen Requirements

Title

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

Specimen Requirement

Collect lavender EDTA, centrifuge and transfer 1.0 mL plasma to an AMBER screw-capped plastic tube. Indicate “Plasma/lav top” on transport tube and freeze within 6 hours of collection. Contact lab for dry ice and ship to lab when dry ice is received.

Protect from light. Critical frozen.

Patient preparation:
Patient must fast overnight and be restricted from alcohol and vitamins for at least 24 hours before sample collection.

Methodology

High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Stability

Frozen 14 days

Reference Range

By Report*

Turnaround

3-5 days (Setup Mon-Fri)

Clinical Use

Evaluate vitamin B6 deficiency. Patients with low values tend to have impaired immune function and increased risk for infection and postoperative complications such as normal dehiscence. Patients on theophylline, antihypertensives, or aminoglycosides are likely to have decreased levels.

Test Code

VB6W