Cortisol, Saliva

Sample type:

Saliva

Uses:

Measurement of salivary cortisol has been widely used in pediatric research for more than 20 years as a biomarker of hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis activity during normal activity and in response to stress.

Precautions:

Do not brush your teeth before collecting specimen.

Do not eat or drink for 15 minutes prior to specimen collection.

Interfering factors:

Biological and lifestyle factors, such as daily rhythm, caffeine ingestion, recent infection, and antibiotic intake, have been shown to influence measurements of salivary cortisol (SC).

Preanalytical errors:

physical or emotional stress, strenuous activity, infection or injury.

Corrective action:

Avoiding physical or emotional stress, strenuous activity, infection or injury.

Post analytical errors:

Results sent to the wrong patient.

Corrective action:

Correct result send to the patient.

Reference range :

Researchers defined normal late-night salivary cortisol as between 29 ng/dL and 101 ng/dL.