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Lamellar Body Count
Test CodeLBC
CPT Codes
83664
Preferred Specimen
AMNIOTIC FLUID, PROTECTED FROM LIGHT, ON ICE
Minimum Volume
1 mL
Other Acceptable Specimens
none
Instructions
Do not Centrifuge
Transport Container
SPECIAL/1
Transport Temperature
ON ICE
Specimen Stability
1 hour at room temperature or 4 hours on ice
Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)
Specimen with visible blood or meconium, prolonged exposure to light, macroscopic clumping or mucus.
Methodology
IMPEDENCE
Setup Schedule
Daily on Receipt
Report Available
24/7
Limitations
Mucoid Samples - LBC cannot be performed but other tesing is available
Reference Range
<15 nL = Immature
15 - 49 nL = Transitional
50 or >50 = Mature
Clinical Significance
Lamellar bodies are made by type II cells in the alveoli that produce surfactant and are the packages in which surfactant is stored. They are released into the amniotic fluid from the lungs in increasing quantities that parallel surfactant production. Lamellar bodies, concentrically layered packages of phospholipids the represent the storage form of surfactant, can be counted in the platelet channel of most electronic cell counters. The result allows an estimation of the extent to which fetal pulmonary activity has developed and, in turn, estimates the degree of fetal lung maturity.