Vitamin B12 Deficiency Cascade
(B12D)

Specimen:

Serum Red-top tube or gel-barrier tube

Use:

Diagnosis of Vitamin B12 Deficiency. Although often used as the first-line screening test for B12 deficiency, serum B12 measurement used in isolation has a generally poor sensitivity and specificity for detection of B12 deficiency.

Precautions:

It’s a simple blood test. You can get it anytime, and you don’t need to go without food (fasting) before you do. Your doctor can add it to the order for your blood test that checks your levels of cholesterol, glucose, and other markers of health. Interfering factors: Ninety per cent of patients with pernicious anemia have gastric parietal cell antibodies, but specificity of this test is poor since they are also found in 15% of elderly subjects. If IFA results are negative but suspicion for pernicious anemia remains, an elevated serum gastrin level is consistent with the diagnosis. Mutations in the gene encoding intrinsic factor, can also lead to an inherited form of B12 malabsorption and deficiency, which resembles pernicious anemia, but without autoantibody involvement. In the presence of discordance between laboratory test result and strong clinical features of B12 deficiency, it remains important to proceed with treatment to avoid neurological impairment.

Pre analytical errors:

Unlabeled sample Sample with anticoagulant.

Post errors:

Delayed report.

Incorrect calculation

Corrective action :

1) Reject sample contain anticoagulant .

2) And unlabeled