Preferred Sample Type
Suitable Specimen Types
- EDTA Plasma
Specimen Transport
Transport to Reference Lab on dry ice for next day delivery. Do not dispatch near weekend.Sample Processing in Laboratory
Send to BHH lab ASAP.Sample Preparation
Cooled sample in ice for transport to BHH lab. Centrifuge and separate within 15 minutes. Immediately store frozen.Turnaround Time
2 weeksSample Stability
Sample must be received on ice within 15 minutes of venesection. Store at -20 ºC once spun.Gastrin
General Information
The gastrin test is usually requested to help detect high levels of gastrin and stomach acid. It is used to help diagnose gastrin-producing tumours called gastrinomas, Zollinger-Ellison (ZE) syndrome, and hyperplasia of G-cells, specialised cells in the stomach that produce gastrin. It may be measured to screen for the presence of multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN) It may be used if a person has abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and recurrent peptic ulcers.
A gastrin test may also be requested to look for recurrence of disease following surgical removal of a gastrinoma.
Sometimes a gastrin stimulation test may be requested if a gastrin result is not very elevated, but the doctor still suspects that the patient's symptoms are due to a gastrinoma. This procedure involves collecting a baseline gastrin sample, giving the patient a chemical (typically the hormone secretin) to stimulate gastrin production, and then taking additional gastrin samples at timed intervals.
A measurement of gastric acid level (pH) may sometimes be used with or following a gastrin test to help diagnose ZE syndrome.
Patient Preparation
Patient must be fasted for at least 10hrs. Patient should have discontinued proton pump inhibitors for two weeks (Protium, Losec and Zoton) and hydrogen receptor antagonists for 72 hrs (Zantac and Tagament), and Rantidine.
Reference Range
Gastrin < 40 pmol/L
Specifications
- EQA Scheme?: Yes
- EQA Status: UK NEQAS Guildford Peptide Hormones