Special clotted blood tube for trace elements

Minimum blood volume: 5 mL

Special clotted blood  tube for trace elements

Minimum blood volume: 3 mL

Serum:

Age	Male (µmol/L)	Female (µmol/L)
< 2 years	0.2 - 0.9	0.2 - 0.9
2 - 4 years	0.5 - 1.3	0.5 - 1.3
> 4 - 16 years	0.7 - 1.7	0.7 - 1.7
> 16 years	0.8 - 2.0	0.8 - 2.0

> 2.5 µmol/L (in adult) possible toxicity

(Source: (1) Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics. 6th Edition. 2015. (2) The Scottish Trace Element and Micronutrient Diagnostic and Research Laboratory (STEMDRL), NHS, UK http://www.traceelements.co.uk/selenium.asp)

Detection of selenium deficiency in patients with dietary deficiency, especially patients on a non-supplemented synthetic amino acid diet (e.g. phenylketonuria, total parenteral nutrition). Such diets are now usually supplemented with selenium.

Detection of selenium toxicity

In humans significant selenium deficiency is manifest primarily as cardiomyopathy. This correlates poorly with serum selenium levels and rarely occurs in selenium deficient patients on total parenteral nutrition.

Keshan disease, a cardio­myopathy in the low-selenium Keshan region of China, and Kashin-Beck disease, a destructive bone and joint disease in parts of China and Siberia, are related to selenium deficiency. The presence of iodine and selenium deficiency is associated with endemic cretinism in China and Africa.