Ordering Recommendation

May aid in diagnosing acute infections and detecting past exposure and/or vaccination.

New York DOH Approval Status

This test is New York state approved.

Specimen Required

Patient Preparation
Collect

Serum separator tube.

Specimen Preparation

Separate serum from cells ASAP or within 2 hours of collection. Transfer 0.5 mL serum to an ARUP standard transport tube. (Min: 0.2 mL) Parallel testing is preferred and convalescent specimens must be received within 30 days from receipt of the acute specimens. Mark specimens plainly as "acute" or "convalescent."

Storage/Transport Temperature

Refrigerated.

Unacceptable Conditions

See individual components.

Remarks
Stability

After separation from cells: Ambient: 48 hours; Refrigerated: 2 weeks; Frozen: 1 year (avoid repeated freeze/thaw cycles)

Methodology

Semi-Quantitative Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/Semi-Quantitative Chemiluminescent Immunoassay

Performed

Sun-Sat

Reported

1-5 days

Reference Interval

Test Number
Components
Reference Interval
  Varicella-Zoster Virus Antibody, IgM 0.90 ISR or less

Interpretive Data




Component Result
Interpretation
Varicella-Zoster Virus Antibody, IgG <1.0 S/CO: Negative. No significant level of detectable varicella-zoster IgG antibody.
>=1.0 S/CO: Positive. IgG antibody to varicella-zoster detected, which may indicate a current or past varicella-zoster infection.
Varicella-Zoster Virus Antibody, IgM 0.90 ISR or less: Negative - No significant level of detectable varicella-zoster virus IgM antibody.
0.91-1.09 ISR: Equivocal - Repeat testing in 10-14 days may be helpful.
1.10 ISR or greater:  Positive - Significant level of detectable varicella-zoster virus IgM antibody. Indicative of current or recent infection. However, low levels of IgM antibodies may occasionally persist for more than 12 months post-infection or immunization.

Compliance Category

FDA

Note

Hotline History

N/A

CPT Codes

86787 x2

Components

Component Test Code* Component Chart Name LOINC
0050167 Varicella-Zoster Virus Ab, IgG
0099314 Varicella-Zoster Virus Antibody, IgM 5404-9
* 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

  • Herpes Zoster
  • Varicella Zoster Virus
  • VZV
  • VZV Antibodies, IgG & IgM
  • VZV antibody panel
  • VZV panel
Varicella-Zoster Virus Antibodies, IgG and IgM