Preferred Sample Type
Suitable Specimen Types
- Serum
Specimen Transport
Transport to Reference Lab on dry ice for next day delivery. Do not dispatch near weekend.Only send to Guildford if single request only. If part of Gut Hormone Profile please send to Hammersmith Hospital.
Sample Processing in Laboratory
Send to BHH lab ASAP.Sample Preparation
Cooled sample in ice for transport to BHH lab. Centrifuge and separate ASAP. Immediately store frozen.Turnaround Time
2 weeksSample Stability
-20 ºCGastrin
General Information
The gastrin test is usually requested to help detect high levels of gastrin and stomach acid. It is used to help diagnose gastrin-producing tumours called gastrinomas, Zollinger-Ellison (ZE) syndrome, and hyperplasia of G-cells, specialised cells in the stomach that produce gastrin. It may be measured to screen for the presence of multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN) It may be used if a person has abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and recurrent peptic ulcers.A gastrin test may also be requested to look for recurrence of disease following surgical removal of a gastrinoma.
Sometimes a gastrin stimulation test may be requested if a gastrin result is not very elevated, but the doctor still suspects that the patient's symptoms are due to a gastrinoma. This procedure involves collecting a baseline gastrin sample, giving the patient a chemical (typically the hormone secretin) to stimulate gastrin production, and then taking additional gastrin samples at timed intervals.
A measurement of gastric acid level (pH) may sometimes be used with or following a gastrin test to help diagnose ZE syndrome.
Patient Preparation
Patient must be fasted for at least 10hrs. Therapy with H-Blockers should be stopped for a minimum of 24hrs and preferably 48hrs.Notes
Do not use gel (i.e. yellow top) tubes.Reference Range
Gastrin <100 mU/LSpecifications
- EQA Scheme?: Yes
- EQA Status: UK NEQAS Guildford Peptide Hormones