Whole blood metals are the standard for diagnosis of lead, mercury or other metal toxicity or poisoning, and are also used to assess recent or ongoing exposure to potentially toxic elements. Serum elements are used to assess the status of key elements and electrolytes that have important functions in the extracellular fluid compartment of blood. Whole Blood and Serum Elements tests are available separately or as part of the Comprehensive Blood Elements profile. [ LEARN MORE]
3 to 5 days
Note: Turnaround times on results are an estimate and are not guaranteed. The lab may need additional time due to holidays, confirmation/repeat testing, etc. You can contact us to discuss when your results should be ready.
Click any analyte name for additional clinical information, including reference ranges, specimen collection, stability and rejection criteria.
List price applies when filing with insurance or Medicare, or when billing a patient directly. Prompt payment pricing applies when billing to a physician account or prepayment is received with the test. Doctor's Data offers profiles containing multiple analytes. *Multiple analytes may be billed under a single CPT code. Many analytes can be ordered individually. Pricing may vary. Click on a specific analyte for more information or read our detailed billing and payment policies. The CPT codes listed on our website are for informational purposes only. This information is our interpretation of CPT coding requirements and may not necessarily be correct. You are advised to consult the CPT Coding Manual published by the American Medical Association. Doctor's Data, Inc. takes no responsibility for billing errors due to your use of any CPT information from our website. Sign in at the top of any page to view pricing and order tests. Or click here to create an account. You may also contact us for assistance placing an order.
Doctor's Data offers profiles containing multiple analytes. *Multiple analytes may be billed under a single CPT code. Many analytes can be ordered individually. Pricing may vary. Click on a specific analyte for more information or read our detailed billing and payment policies.
The CPT codes listed on our website are for informational purposes only. This information is our interpretation of CPT coding requirements and may not necessarily be correct. You are advised to consult the CPT Coding Manual published by the American Medical Association. Doctor's Data, Inc. takes no responsibility for billing errors due to your use of any CPT information from our website.
Sign in at the top of any page to view pricing and order tests. Or click here to create an account. You may also contact us for assistance placing an order.
Blood elemental analysis should be performed prior to the initiation of, and intermittingly during, metal detoxification. Toxic metals disrupt essential element metabolism and are antagonistic to some elements such as cadmium to zinc and lead to calcium. Further, commonly utilized metal detoxification agents can cause significantly increased urinary wasting of some essential elements. For example, EDTA has a very high affinity for zinc and manganese, and DMPS results in marked increases in copper excretion. Therefore, appropriate evaluation of essential element status is an integral component of safe and effective metal detoxification therapy.
Analysis of toxic elements/metals in whole blood is useful for assessment of recent or ongoing exposure to the toxins, but does not provide accurate information about net retention of toxic metals in the body. For example, blood lead levels peak about five hours after acute exposure and then decrease exponentially with a half-life in blood of about one month. Evaluation and elimination of ongoing exposure to toxic metals is another important component of efficient metal detoxification.
Accurate assessment of essential element status in the most appropriate compartment is highly recommended for determination of appropriate supplementation. The absorption, transport and metabolism of essential elements is highly integrated and regulated. Inappropriate supplementation or dietary imbalance of elements can have significant adverse health effects. For example, excess intake of zinc or molybdenum can result in copper deficiency and excess assimilation of manganese can have serious neurotoxic effects that are expressed as Parkinson's-like disease.
Whole blood analysis is an excellent test for measuring the levels of both intracellular and extracellular circulating elements. Extracellular elements have functions in serum/plasma or are transported to tissues in serum/plasma associated with specific proteins or albumen. Intracellular elements have very specific functions as obligatory constituents of metalloproteins/enzymes in red blood cells and lymphocytes. The red and white blood cells serve as surrogate cells representative of peripheral cells in general. Some essential elements, such as selenium, are portioned in and have important physiological roles in both the intracellular and extracellular compartments. Likewise, the toxic metal lead is transported in both the fluid and cellular (red blood cells) compartments of blood. Therefore measurement of elements in both blood compartments permits a more complete evaluation of total blood element levels.
Blood elemental analysis is available in whole blood, in serum and as a Comprehensive Blood Elements profile which is comprised of both whole blood and serum elements. It is highly recommended that blood and serum specimens be collected after an overnight fast to avoid the acute influence of a meal.
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