Islet Autoantibodies
(IAA)

Sample type

Serum, frozen (Red-top tube or gel-barrier tube)

Use

1. Differential diagnosis of type 1 versus type 2 DM (diabetes mellitus).

2. Evaluating diabetics with insulin resistance.

3. Investigation of hypoglycemia in nondiabetic subjects.

4. Marker for type 1 DM. In 95% of cases of new-onset type 1 DM, ≤1 of 4 is positive .

Precautions

• sample Freeze immediately and maintain frozen until tested. To avoid delays in turnaround time when requesting multiple tests on frozen samples, please submit separate frozen specimens for each test requested.

• Patient Preparation: No radioactive isotopes should be administered 24 hours prior to venipuncture.

Interfering factors

• IAA (Islet Autoantibodies) testing must be performed before insulin therapy is initiated.

• Children at onset of type 1 DM (diabetes mellitus) are more commonly IAA positive than adults. Up to 80% of new–onset type 1 DM patients before the age of 5 years have IAA compared with only approximately 30% for adults.

Pre-analytical errors

If patient exposure to Radioactive isotopes administered 24 hours prior to venipuncture

The corrective action

The sample must be rejected and another sample obtained.

Post-analytical errors

1-reports sent to the wrong patient

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

The corrective action

1-communication with patient, apologising for the error, and providing him with the correct report.

2-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

negative.