D-Dimer, Plasma

Message

See specimen stability for guidance when drawing specimens at a location other than McKee Medical Center, North Colorado Medical Center, Banner Fort Collins Medical Center, Sterling Regional Medical Center, or East Morgan County Hospital. STAT courier must be called for transport to the performing laboratory when stability is less than 24 hours.

Test Code

DDIQ - NOCO

CPT Codes
85379

Preferred Specimen

1.0 mL plasma from Blue Top (Na Citrate)

Minimum Volume

Full blue top tube or 1.0 mL plasma frozen

Instructions

It is imperative that the tube be completely filled to frosted line. The ratio of blood to anticoagulant is critical for valid coagulation results. If obtaining blood with a syringe, fill the light blue-top (sodium citrate) tube first.
If patient is on heparin, specimen must be centrifuged and separated within 1 hour of draw.
Heparin contaminated tube is not acceptable.
Keep specimen anaerobic.
Patients with an extremely high hematocrit may require special tubes before obtaining blood for coagulation testing. Please contact the lab for further information.
If testing will not be completed within 24 hours, spin down, remove plasma, and spin plasma again, and send specimen frozen in plastic vial.

Specimen Stability

Specimen Type	Temperature	Time
Whole blood Na Cit on heparin	Ambient	1 hour
Whole blood Na Cit (unopen/unspun)	Ambient	24 hours
Plasma Na Cit (open/spun)	Ambient	24 hours
Plasma Na Cit double spun and separated	Frozen -20 C	2 weeks

Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)

Gross hemolysis, clotted, insufficient volume

Methodology
Immunoturbidometric

Setup Schedule

Monday through Sunday; Continuously

Report Available

Same day

Reference Range

< 500 ng/mL FEU

Performing Laboratory
Banner Fort Collins Medical Center Laboratory
Mckee Medical Center Laboratory
North Colorado Medical Center Laboratory
Summit View Laboratory
Sterling Regional Medical Center
East Morgan County Hospital
Ogallala Community Hospital

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.