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Catecholamines, Fractionated, Plasma
Test Code314
CPT Codes
82384
Includes
Dopamine, Epinephrine, Norepinephrine and Total Catecholamines (calculated)
Preferred Specimen
4 mL plasma collected in a sodium heparin (green-top) tube
Patient Preparation
Overnight fasting is required. Patient should avoid alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco and strenuous exercise prior to collection.
Patients should be relaxed in either a supine or upright position before blood is drawn. States of anxiety and stress can cause fluctuations in the catecholamine levels. Draw specimen in a pre-chilled green-top Vacutainer®.
Minimum Volume
2.5 mL
Other Acceptable Specimens
Plasma collected in: Lithium heparin (green-top) or sodium heparin lead-free (tan-top)
Instructions
After drawing specimen, place green-top tube in an ice bath. Centrifuge 20 minutes 1000xg. The plasma must be free of RBC's. Freeze on dry ice to transport.
Transport Temperature
Frozen
Specimen Stability
Room temperature: 6 hours
Refrigerated: 6 hours
Frozen: 30 days
Methodology
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) • Electrochemical Detection
Setup Schedule
Mon-Fri
Report Available
3 to 6 Day(s)
Limitations
Recent surgery, traumatic injury, upright posture, cold, anxiety, pain, clonidine withdrawal, and concurrent acute or chronic illness may produce elevated results.
Clinical Significance
The three catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine) are the principal secretory products of neural tissue. Clinically, the measurement of circulating catecholamines is valuable in the diagnosis of catecholamine secreting tumors associated chiefly with hypertension (phechromocytomas, neuroblastomas, and gangliomas) and with the evaluation of orthostatic hypotension.
