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HelpEpic Test Code LAB2019 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA Detection, Varies (Panther)
Additional Codes
LAB Orderable Only: LAB1902
Performing Location(s)
BMC
Preferred Container
Saline or VTM
Specimen Required
Nasopharyngeal (NP), oropharyngeal (OP; ie, throat), nasal mid-turbinate, or nares/nasal swab
Nasopharyngeal Wash/Aspirate and Nasal Aspirate Specimen Collection
Supplies: Swab, Sterile Polyester
Container/Tube: Universal transport media, viral transport media, or equivalent (eg, Copan UTM-RT, BD VTM, MicroTest M4, M4-RT, M5)
Acceptable Wash/Aspirate transport: Sterile Container
Media should not contain guanidine thiocyanate (GTC).
For more information on acceptable transport media, see www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-medical-devices/faqs-diagnostic-testing-sars-cov-2
Specimen Volume: Entire specimen with a minimum of 1.5 mL (maximum 3 mL) of transport media.
Acceptable Swab Transport
Universal transport media, viral transport media, or equivalent (eg, Copan UTM-RT, BD VTM, MicroTest M4, M4-RT, M5), Saline
Acceptable Wash/Aspirate transpot: Sterile Container
Transportation Needs
Transport to lab as soon as possible. If immediate transport to the lab is not possible, specimen must be refrigerated.
Storage Requirements
Refrigerate for up to 96 hours.
Frozen samples in transport media are acceptable.
If sample is frozen ship the sample frozen to performing laboratory.
Causes for Rejection
Unlabeled, mislabeled specimen
Incorrect container type
VTM/UTM/Amies stored >96 hours refrigerated
<1.5 ml liquid in vial or >3.0 ml liquid in vial
Source other than nasopharyngeal (NP), nasal, mid-turbinate, oropharyngeal (OP) and nasopharyngeal wash/aspirate or nasal aspirates.
No swab submitted in VTM/UTM/Amies/Saline
Calcium alginate-tipped swab, wooded shaft swab, or swab collection tubes containing gel or charcoal additive.
Expired collection container
Reference Values
Negative
Useful For
Diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
Recommended only for patients who meet current clinical and/or epidemiologic criteria defined by federal, state, or local public health directives.
Ordering Guidance
Due to the non-specific clinical presentation of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the early stages of illness, testing for other respiratory tract infections (eg, influenza) may be warranted.
For the most up-to-date COVID-19 epidemiology and testing recommendations, visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Cautions
The sensitivity of the assays is dependent on the timing of the specimen collection (in relation to symptom onset), as well as the quality and type of the specimen submitted for testing.
The test is specific for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and positive test results do not exclude the possibility of concurrent infection with other respiratory viruses.
Undetected (ie, negative) results do not rule out COVID-19 in patients and should not be used as the sole basis for treatment or other patient management decisions. Result should be correlated with patient's history and clinical presentation.
Day(s) Performed
Mon-Fri
1st shift
Method Name
Hologic Panther combined technologies of target capture, Transcription Medicated Amplification (TMA), and Dual Kinetic Assay (DKA).
CPT Code
87635
Last Updated
6-May-24 ET