Antidiuretic Hormone
(ADH)

Sample type:

A blood sample from a vein (serum or plasma EDTA)

Uses:

• To help detect, diagnose, and determine the cause of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) deficiency, resistance to its effects, or excess; to investigate low blood sodium levels (hyponatremia); to distinguish between the two types of diabetes insipidus.

Precautions:

• The patient must be fasting (nothing to eat or drink) for 12 hours.

• the patient must be adequately hydrated.

• limit physical activity for 10-12 hours before the test.

• Drugs and medications that impact your ADH levels.

Interfering factor:

• Drugs that stimulate ADH release, such as: barbiturates, desipramine, morphine, nicotine, amitriptyline and carbamazepine.

• Drugs that promote ADH action, such as: acetaminophen, metformin, tolbutamide, aspirin, theophylline, and non- steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

• Drugs that decrease ADH or its effects, such as: ethanol, lithium, and phenytoin.

pre analytical errors:

Delay in perform the test .

The corrective action:

Make the test immediately or Freeze plasma immediately.

Post analytical errors:

write the wrong name in the report or the wrong results.

The corrective action:

If the report is not delivered to the patient and this error is discovered, the correct result or the correct name must be written, but if the report is delivered to the patient, you must communicate with him, apologise to him, and tell him that an error has occurred and replace it with the correct report.

Reference range

ADH: 0.0−4.7 pg/mL

Osmolality:

Neonates: May be as low as 266 mOsmol/kg

0 to 60 years: 275−295 mOsmol/kg

> 60 years: 280−301 mOsmol/kg