Specimen:

Serum

Collection Medium:

Alternate
Collection Media:

Green top tube (Na Heparin), Lavender top tube (EDTA), Pink top tube 
(EDTA sprayed)

Minimum:

Collect TWO full red top or lavender top tubes.

Recommended minimum:  4.0 mL serum or plasma
Absolute minimum:     2.0 mL serum or plasma

Rejection Criteria:

Specimens exposed to repeated freeze/thaw cycles.  Serum separator 
tubes and plasma/whole blood from light blue (sodium citrate).

Analytic Time:

7 working days

Reference Range:

              Unexposed non-tobacco user   Passive exposure
Nicotine          Less than 2 ng/mL        Less than 2 ng/mL
Cotinine          Less than 2 ng/mL        Less than 8 ng/mL
3-OH-Cotinine     Less than 2 ng/mL        Less than 2 ng/mL
              Abstinent user for more      Active tobacco product use
                    than 2 weeks
Nicotine          Less than 2 ng/mL           30 - 50 ng/mL
Cotinine          Less than 2 ng/mL          200 - 800 ng/mL
3-OH-Cotinine     Less than 2 ng/mL          100 - 500 ng/mL

Reference range source:  Clinical Chemistry 48:9 1460-1471, 2002

Interpretive Data:

1. Drugs covered: nicotine, cotinine, 3-OH-cotinine.
2. Positive cutoff: 2 ng/mL

The absence of expected drug(s) and/or drug metabolite(s) may indicate 
non-compliance, inappropriate timing of specimen collection relative to 
drug administration, poor drug absorption, or limitations of testing. 
The concentration value must be greater than or equal to the cutoff to 
be reported as positive.

For medical purposes only; not valid for forensic use.

Comments:

No gel separator tubes.

Methodology:

Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

CPT Code:

83887