Lab Information Manual

Laboratory:

Clinical Biochemistry

Test Name:

BETA-TRANSFERRIN (BETA 2, BETA-2, CSF SPECIFIC TRANSFERRIN, TAU) - (F)

Test Code: MIS8

Clinical Information:

Description: Useful for detection of CSF in body fluids. Leakage of CSF into nose or ear canal may occur as a result of head trauma, tumor, surgery or congenital malformation.

Collection Devices:

Preferred Devices:

1 - Sterile 15 mL Screw Cap Collection Container

Sterile 15 mL Screw Cap Collection Container
Manufacturer:

Catalogue #:

- And -

1 - Sterile 15 mL Screw Cap Conical Tube

Sterile 15 mL Screw Cap Conical Tube
Manufacturer: Becton Dickinson

Catalogue #:

Alternate Device: Sterile Specimen Container 100 mL
Sterile container, test tube, microtube. No preservatives or additives. Do not use culture swabs.

Specimen Required:

Fluid: 2.0 mL

Adult Volume: 2 mL (min 1 mL)
Collection Information: Collect nasal or ear fluid to a clean sterile container. For slow or intermittent fluid flow, store specimen during collection refrigerated. If fluid flow is insufficient for collection, direct collection with applied suction, straining, Valsalva maneuver (contraindicated in hypertensive patients), or by increasing abdominal pressure may be performed.
Special Processing:
- Indicate fluid source (e.g. ear, nose)
- Freeze specimen immediately (salivary contamination degrades beta-2 transferrin)

Referral:

Specimen Type: Fluid
Shipping & Storage: Store and ship frozen.
Referred Out Location:
Specimen referred from HSC-MS5 to:
In-Common Laboratories
57 Gervais Drive
North York, Ontario
M3C 1Z2
Telephone: (416) 422-3000
Test ID: BETATRANS
Testing location: Scarborough General Hospital, Scarborough, ON

Requisition:

_SH Body Fluid Requisition (R250-10-53)

Reference Values:

Analyte	Interpretation
β-1-Transferrin	Present in plasma, CSF and other body fluids.
β-2-Transferrin	Present only in CSF. Absence indicates that the specimen does not contain CSF.
Method of Analysis: Immunofixation electrophoresis

Availability:

Within 2 Weeks

See Also:

More Information:

In rare instances of genetic variant of transferrin, interpretation may not be possible and paired serum sample (SST or red top only) will be requested by testing laboratory. Please consult Clinical Biochemist on Duty 431-276-0131 for further instructions.
Interpretation & Assay Interferences: Beta-2 transferrin is also found in aqueous humor and in serum of patients with rare metabolic glycoprotein disorders or genetic variants of transferrin (doi.org/10.1373/clinchem.2004.040246).

Beta-2 transferrin may be undetectable if the specimen is diluted by saliva and not frozen after collection.