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Test Code LPS Lipase, Serum


Specimen Required


Patient Preparation: Patients should be fasting before the specimen is collected.

Collection Container/Tube:

Preferred: Serum gel

Acceptable: Red top

Submission Container/Tube: Plastic vial

Specimen Volume: 0.5 mL

Collection Instructions:

1. Serum gel tube must be centrifuged within 2 hours of collection.

2. Red-top tube must be centrifuged, and the serum aliquoted into a plastic vial within 2 hours of collection.


Useful For

Investigating pancreatic disorders, usually pancreatitis

Method Name

Colorimetric Rate Reaction

Reporting Name

Lipase, S

Specimen Type

Serum

Specimen Minimum Volume

0.25 mL

Specimen Stability Information

Specimen Type Temperature Time Special Container
Serum Refrigerated (preferred) 7 days
  Frozen  365 days
  Ambient  7 days

Reject Due To

Gross hemolysis Reject
Other Collection tubes with glycerol-lubricated stoppers

Clinical Information

Lipases are enzymes that hydrolyze glycerol esters of long-chain fatty acids and produce fatty acids and 2-acylglycerol. Bile salts and a cofactor, colipase, are required for full catalytic activity and greatest specificity. The pancreas is the primary source of serum lipase. Both lipase and colipase are synthesized in the pancreatic acinar cells and secreted by the pancreas in roughly equimolar amounts. Lipase is filtered and reabsorbed by the kidneys. Pancreatic injury results in increased serum lipase levels.

Reference Values

13-60 U/L

Interpretation

In pancreatitis, lipase becomes elevated at about the same time as amylase (4-8 hours). But lipase may rise to a greater extent and remain elevated much longer (7-10 days) than amylase.

 

Elevations 2 to 50 times the upper reference have been reported. The increase in serum lipase is not necessarily proportional to the severity of the attack. Normalization is not necessarily a sign of resolution.

 

In acute pancreatitis, normoamylasemia may occur in up to 20% of such patients. Likewise, the existence of hyperlipemia may cause a spurious normoamylasemia. For these reasons, it is suggested that the 2 assays complement and not exclude each other, and that both enzymes should be assayed.

Day(s) Performed

Monday through Sunday

Report Available

Same day/1 to 2 days

Specimen Retention Time

1 week

Performing Laboratory

Mayo Clinic Laboratories in Rochester

Test Classification

This test has been cleared, approved, or is exempt by the US Food and Drug Administration and is used per manufacturer's instructions. Performance characteristics were verified by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements.

CPT Code Information

83690

LOINC Code Information

Test ID Test Order Name Order LOINC Value
LPS Lipase, S 3040-3

 

Result ID Test Result Name Result LOINC Value
LPS Lipase, S 3040-3