Heparin Assay, Unfractionated

Test Code
HEPX


Alias/See Also
Heparin Anti-XA, Anti Factor Xa Assay for Unfractionated Heparin


CPT Codes
85520

Preferred Specimen
4.5 ml of whole blood preferred (tube must be filled to the line)


Minimum Volume
1.8 ml of whole blood preferred (tube must be filled to the line)


Instructions
Collect one full sodium citrate tube (blue top).  Send to lab immediately.  If the specimen needs to be transported, centrifuge the specimen, aliquot the specimen into a separate container, spin again, aliquot the specimen into a new container and freeze.

 Specify heparin type.


Transport Container
Full Sodium Citrate tube (blue top)


Transport Temperature
Frozen


Specimen Stability
Specimen must be centrifuged within one hour of collection. 

Room Temperature: 4 hours (centrifuged)
Refrigerated: Not acceptable
Frozen: 30 days




Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)
Specimens which are not properly filled do not contain the proper anti-coagulant to blood ratio and are therefore rejected.  Hemolyzed and clotted specimens are also unacceptable for testing.



Methodology
Chromogenic

Setup Schedule
Daily


Report Available
Turn around time: 24 hours.




The CPT Codes provided in this document are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. CPT coding is the sole responsibility of the billing party. Please direct any questions regarding coding to the payor being billed. Any Profile/panel component may be ordered separately. Reflex tests are performed at an additional charge.