| Oral Dexamethasone suppression test |
| | . |
| REQUESTING AND COLLECTING |
| | Ordering: | | Test performed by appointment at SydPath, Suite 507, St Vincent's |
| | Clinic. Test may also be perfomed on the wards or as an outpatient. |
| | Collection: | | No patient preparation required. 1 mg dexamethasone given to the |
| | patient orally at 11 pm. Collect serum for cortisol between 8 am and 9 |
| | am the next day. |
| Container(s): | | Serum (gold-top) |
| | . |
| | GENERAL INFORMATION |
| | Test use: | | For the exclusion of Cushing's syndrome. |
| | Availability: | | Test performed daily. Results available 1 day after sample arrival in |
| | laboratory. |
| | Reference Intervals: | | A suppression of cortisol to less thran 150 nmol/L may be considered a |
| | normal response. |
| | Laboratory: | | Manual Immunoassay (8382-9170) |
| Synonyms: | | Dexamethasone suppression test |
| | Low Dose dexamethasone suppression test |
| . |
| INSTRUCTIONS FOR REFERRING LABORATORIES |
| Handling and | | Centrifuge sample, store and transport plasma at 4°C |
| _______________________________________________________________________ |
| INSTRUCTIONS FOR HANDLING AT SYDPATH |
| SydPath Handling: | | SPRO: Centrifuge at 4°C, aliquot (x1). Place in SPRO fridge. |
| Mnemonic: |
| | Enter as for cortisol |
| | GEcode: |
| | SydPath | | Chemical Pathology |
| . |
| Date Published: Monday, 5 July 2010 |