Mercury, Hair or Nails

CPT CODE:

USEFUL FOR:

Detecting mercury toxicity

SPECIMEN REQUIRED:

Submit only 1 of the following specimens:
Hair Send at least 0.5 g. Typically this is the length of an index finger and width of a pencil. Prepare and transport specimen per the instructions in the Hair and Nails Collection Kit (Supply T565) or see "Hair and Nails Instruction Sheet for Metals Testing" in Special Instructions.
NailsSend 0.5 g. Clippings should be taken from all 10 fingernails or toenails. Prepare and transport specimen per the instructions in the Hair and Nails Collection Kit (Supply T565) or see "Hair and Nails Instruction Sheet for Metals Testing" in Special Instructions.

TRANSPORT TEMPERATURE:

Ambient\Refrig OK\Frozen OK

CLINICAL INFORMATION:

Once absorbed and circulating, mercury (Hg) becomes bound to numerous proteins, including keratin. The concentration of mercury in hair correlates with the severity of clinical symptoms. If the haircan be segregated by length, such an exercise can be useful inidentifying the time of exposure.

CLINICAL INTERPRETATION:

Normally, hair contains <1 mcg/g mercury; any amount more thanthis indicates that exposure to more than normal amounts of mercuryhas occurred.

REFERENCE VALUES:

<1 mcg/g of hair or nails