Specimen Requirements

Minimum Specimen Requirements

Stability

Days Performed

Mon, Wed, Fri

Turnaround Time

1 - 4 days

Methodology

Special Info

Grossly hemolyzed or lipemic samples as well as samples containing particulate matter or exhibiting obvious microbial contamination will be rejected. Bacterial contamination or heat inactivation of the specimen may affect the test results.

Clinical Info

The magnitude of the measured result is not indicative of the amount of antibody present. Equivocal results should have a new sample collected and tested three weeks later.

Clinical Limitation

The assay is not, in and of itself, diagnostic and should be considered in conjunction with the patient’s clinical presentation/history and other laboratory test results. Infections such as Epstein-Barr virus, Cytomegalovirus and different hepatitis viruses may cause symptoms similar to toxoplasmosis and must be excluded before confirmation of diagnosis. Samples collected early in the course of the infection may not have detectable levels of specific IgM. A nonreactive IgM result may be due to delayed seroconversion and does not rule out current infection. If clinical exposure to Toxoplasma gondii is suspected despite a negative finding, a second sample should be collected and tested. Specific IgM Antibodies are usually detected in patients with recent primary infection, but they may be found in patients with reactivated infections, and they are sometimes found in patients with no other detectable evidence of recent infection.