| Specimen requirement | Whole Blood | Urine |
| Adult patient: Special EDTA tube for trace elements Minimum blood volume: 2.6 mL |
Spot urine: Special acid wash bottle for trace elements Volume: 10 mL 24 Hr urine: U6 bottle
|
|
| Paediatric patient: Special EDTA tube for trace elements Minimum blood volume: 1.3 mL
|
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| Authorisation code required | Yes | Yes |
| 24 Hr available service | No | No |
| Method | Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) | |
| Reference interval |
Whole blood:
Non-smoker < 27 nmol/L Smoker < 54 nmol/L (Source: SAS Trace Element Lab. Clin. and Analytical Handbook 2nd ed. 1992)Urine: < 10 nmol/mmol Cr
(Source: SAS Trace Element Lab. Clin. and Analytical Handbook 2nd ed. 1992)
< 50 nmol/day (Source: Trace Elements in Human Nutrition WHO 1996) |
|
| Clinical indication | Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal. Measurement is for detecting cadmium exposure and/or toxicity. |
|
| Result interpretation |
Blood cadmium is for detecting chronic exposure. It is less reliable for assessing acute toxicity as there is a continue elevation of blood cadmium long after the exposure has ceased in those previously exposed. Urine cadmium may remain low during significant cadmium exposure until a critical renal concentration is reached. When renal damage occurs, output increases markedly. |
|
| Measurement of uncertainty | See table. | |
| Frequency of measurement | Weekly | |