Ordering Recommendation

Use for nutritional assessment of vitamin C.

New York DOH Approval Status

This test is New York state approved.

Specimen Required

Patient Preparation
Collect

Green (sodium or lithium heparin). Place specimen in ice bath immediately. Also acceptable: Plasma separator tube.

Specimen Preparation

Protect from light, centrifuge, transfer plasma,  and freeze within 1 hour of collection. Transfer 0.5 mL plasma to an ARUP amber transport tube. (Min: 0.3 mL)

Storage/Transport Temperature

CRITICAL FROZEN AND LIGHT PROTECTED. Separate specimens must be submitted when multiple tests are ordered

Unacceptable Conditions

EDTA plasma, whole blood, or body fluids. Grossly hemolyzed specimens.

Remarks

Thawing and refreezing of the specimen and exposure to light will result in decreased vitamin C concentration.

Stability

After separation from cells: Ambient: Unacceptable; Refrigerated: Unacceptable; Frozen: 1 month

Methodology

Quantitative High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Performed

Sun-Sat

Reported

1-6 days

Reference Interval

23-114 µmol/L

Interpretive Data

Vitamin C concentrations lower than 11 umol/L indicate deficiency. Concentrations between 11 and 23 umol/L are consistent with a moderate risk of deficiency due to inadequate tissue stores.

Vitamin C concentration is reported as micromoles per liter (umol/L). To convert concentration to milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), multiply the result by 0.0176.

Compliance Category

Laboratory Developed Test (LDT)

Note

Fasting specimen preferred. Thawing and refreezing of the specimen and exposure to light will result in decreased vitamin C concentration.

Hotline History

N/A

CPT Codes

82180

Components

Component Test Code* Component Chart Name LOINC
0080380 Vitamin C, Plasma 1903-4
* Component test codes cannot be used to order tests. The information provided here is not sufficient for interface builds; for a complete test mix, please click the sidebar link to access the Interface Map.

Aliases

  • Ascorbate
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Plasma