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UW Health SMPH

After-Hours STAT Specimen

For customers of UW Hospital and Clinics' Clinical Laboratories requesting special STAT services after hours (i.e. Methotrexate), pathologist approval must be obtained before testing will proceed with the exception of ethylene glycol, methanol and isopropanol.

 

Testing that requires pathologist approval after hours is noted in the UW Hospital and Clinics Lab Test Directory. For example, in the entry for Methotrexate (MTX), see the note "Pathology Resident approval is required after hours" in the Days Performed field.

 

To obtain pathology resident approval, the ordering physician should call UW Hospital and Clinics Paging at (608) 262-2122 and ask for the Clinical Pathology Resident on-call.

 

Ethylene Glycol and Volatiles (Methanol and Isopropanol) Screen and After-hours Testing Algorithm

 
Ethylene glycol, methanol, and isopropanol levels will be assayed stat after-hours if:
  • The patient is younger than 18 years old OR
  • The patient is 18 years or older and has an osmo gap > 10 by this calculation:
    Osmo Gap = Osmolality - [(Sodium x 2) + (Glucose/18) + (BUN/2.8)]
Turn-around time is 2 hours from the time the technologist is on-site to perform the ethylene glycol, methanol and isopropanol testing.
 
If neither of these two criteria are met for samples received after-hours, testing will be completed the next day shift.
 
If the patient is positive for ethylene glycol and/or volatiles ingestion, a Clinical Laboratory physician will contact the attending physician to develop a testing plan for follow-up.
 
Please refer to the UW Hospital and Clinics Lab Test Directory entries for Ethylene Glycol and Volatiles Screen, Adult (VGAP) or Ethylene Glycol and Volatiles Screen, Pediatrics (VGAPP) or call the UWHC Clinical Laboratory at (608) 263-7060 for instructions.