Test Mnemonic
CRTSIM
CPT Codes
Includes
- Cortisol (Free) Baseline
- Cortisol (Free) 30 min
- Cortisol (Free) 60 min
Performing Laboratory
Quest SJC
Specimen Requirements
| Volume |
Type |
Container |
Collect Temperature |
Transport Temperature |
Special Instructions |
| 2 mL | Serum | No additive (Red) | | Frozen | Do not use gel separator tubes. Separate serum from cells ASAP and freeze. This assay requires 3 separate tubes; one drawn at baseline, one drawn 30 minutes post, and one drawn 60 minutes post. |
Alternate Specimen Requirements
| Volume |
Type |
Container |
Collect Temperature |
Transport Temperature |
Special Instructions |
| 2 mL | Plasma | EDTA (Lavender) | | Frozen | Do not use gel separator tubes. Separate plasma from cells ASAP and freeze. This assay requires 3 separate tubes; one drawn at baseline, one drawn 30 minutes post, and one drawn 60 minutes post. |
| 2 mL | Plasma | EDTA PPT (White) | | Frozen | Do not use gel separator tubes. Separate plasma from cells ASAP and freeze. This assay requires 3 separate tubes; one drawn at baseline, one drawn 30 minutes post, and one drawn 60 minutes post. |
Minimum Specimen Requirements
| Volume |
Type |
Container |
Collect Temperature |
Transport Temperature |
Special Instructions |
| 0.7 mL | | | | | |
Stability
| Environmental Condition |
Description |
| Ambient | 48 hours |
| Refrigerated | 1 week |
| Frozen | 2 years |
Days Performed
Sun - Thu
Turnaround Time
4 - 8 days
Methodology
| Name |
Description |
| Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) | |
Reference Range
| Free Cortisol Baseline LC/MS/MS |
| Sex |
Age From |
Age To |
Type |
Range |
Range Unit |
| | | | | 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM 0.04 - 0.35 mcg/dL | |
| | | | 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM 0.04 - 0.45 mcg/dL | |
| | | | 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM 0.07 - 0.93 mcg/dL | |
| Free Cortisol Stimulation Panel |
| Sex |
Age From |
Age To |
Type |
Range |
Range Unit |
| | | | | Reference ranges for 30 and 60 minutes are not defined. | |
Special Info
Grossly hemolyzed specimens and SST will be rejected. Specimens received Ambient will be rejected.
Three separate specimen tubes MUST be drawn for this assay; one at baseline, one 30 minutes post, and one 60 minutes post. For each timed specimen submitted, each tube must be clearly marked with time drawn. Submit all tubes with one test request form. Draw morning baseline specimen. Administer 250 ug Cortrosyn. Draw additional specimens at 30 and 60 minutes. Cortrosyn is not provided by the performing lab.
