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PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN (087-0523)
Test Mnemonic:

PSA

Specimen Requirements:
Collection:

Serum separator tube (SST) (Preferred), Plasma separator tube (PST) or red stopped vacutainer tube.

Minimum Volume:

3 mL of blood.

Storage/Transport:

Delivered to Sample Management within 2 hours of collection  

Specimen Preparation:

Allow specimen to clot completely at room temperature. Centrifuge to separate serum from cells within 2 hours of collection. Transfer serum from collection tube to labeled plastic transport tube. 

Stability:

Refrigerated for ≤ 7 days; frozen for ≤ 4 weeks. (Avoid repeated freeze/thaw cycles).

Causes for Rejection:

Incomplete and/or incorrect sample identification, improper storage/transport, and gross hemolysis and lipemia.                                              

Reference Range:

By report (reports may vary based on instrumentation, patient age and sex)

Turnaround Time:

RT: 8 hours; ASAP: 4 hours

Methodology:

Chemiluminescence

Performed:

Clinical Chemistry

CPT 4 Code:

84153 Limited Coverage Test (NCD)

Note:

Specimen must be collected before any type of prostate manipulation or one week after manipulation. The test can be ordered only once per inpatient admission or once per month for outpatients. Additional requests must have the approval of the laboratory director.

When ordering tests for which Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement will be sought, physicians should only order tests that are medically necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of the patient. Components of the organ or disease panels may be ordered individually. The diagnostic information must substantiate all tests ordered and must be in the form of an ICD-10 code or its verbal equivalent.
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