Test ID: COS
Cobalt, Serum
Secondary ID 
A test code used for billing and in test definitions created prior to November 2011
NY State Approved Indicates the status of NY State approval and if the test is orderable for NY State clients.
Useful For Suggests clinical disorders or settings where the test may be helpful
Detecting cobalt toxicity
Monitoring metallic prosthetic implant wear
Special Instructions and Forms Describes specimen collection and preparation information, test algorithms, and other information pertinent to test. Also includes pertinent information and consent forms to be used when requesting a particular test
Method Name A short description of the method used to perform the test
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)
Reporting Name A shorter/abbreviated version of the Published Name for a test; an abbreviated test name
Aliases Lists additional common names for a test, as an aid in searching
Cobalt (Co)
Specimen Type Describes the specimen type needed for testing
Specimen Required Defines the optimal specimen. This field describes the type of specimen required to perform the test and the preferred volume to complete testing. The volume allows automated processing, fastest throughput and, when indicated, repeat or reflex testing.
Collection Container/Tube: Plain, royal blue-top Monoject trace element blood collection tube, product #8881-307006 (Supply T184)
Submission Container/Tube: 7-mL Mayo metal-free, screw-capped, polypropylene vial (Supply T173)
Specimen Volume: 1.6 mL
Collection Instructions:
1. Allow the specimen to clot for 30 minutes; then centrifuge the specimen to separate serum from the cellular fraction.
2. Remove the stopper. Carefully pour specimen into a 7-mL Mayo metal-free, screw-capped, polypropylene vial, avoiding transfer of the cellular components of blood. Do not insert a pipet into the serum to accomplish transfer, and do not ream the specimen with a wooden stick to assist with serum transfer.
3. See Metals Analysis-Collection and Transport in Special Instructions for complete instructions.
Additional Information: High concentrations of gadolinium and iodine are known to interfere with most metals tests. If either gadolinium- or iodine-containing contrast media has been administered, a specimen should not be collected for 96 hours.
Forms: If not ordering electronically, submit a General Request Form (Supply T239) with the specimen.
Specimen Minimum Volume Defines the amount of specimen required to perform an assay once, including instrument and container dead space. Submitting the minimum specimen volume makes it impossible to repeat the test or perform confirmatory or perform reflex testing. In some situations, a minimum specimen volume may result in a QNS (quantity not sufficient) result, requiring a second specimen to be collected.
Reject Due To Identifies specimen types and conditions that may cause the specimen to be rejected
| Hemolysis | Mild OK; Gross OK |
| Lipemia | Mild OK; Gross OK |
| Icterus | Mild OK; Gross reject |
| Other | NA |
Specimen Stability Information Provides a description of the temperatures required to transport a specimen to the laboratory. Alternate acceptable temperature(s) are also included.
| Specimen Type | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Serum | Refrigerated (preferred) | 7 days |
| Ambient | 7 days | |
| Frozen | 7 days |
Clinical Information Discusses physiology, pathophysiology, and general clinical aspects, as they relate to a laboratory test
Cobalt is rare but widely distributed in the environment, used in the manufacture of hard alloys with high melting points and resistance to oxidation; cobalt alloys are used in manufacture of some artificial joint prosthesis devices. Cobalt salts are used in the glass and pigment industry. Previously, cobalt salts were sometimes used as foam stabilizers in the brewing industry; this practice was banned due to the cardiovascular diseases it induced. The radioactive isotope of cobalt, (60)Co, is used as a gamma emitter in experimental biology, cancer therapy, and industrial radiography.
Cobalt is an essential cofactor in vitamin B12 metabolism. Cobalt deficiency has not been reported in humans.
Cobalt is not highly toxic, but large doses will produce adverse clinical manifestations. Acute symptoms are pulmonary edema, allergy, nausea, vomiting, hemorrhage, and renal failure. Chronic symptoms include pulmonary syndrome, skin disorders, and thyroid abnormalities. The inhalation of dust during machining of cobalt alloyed metals can lead to interstitial lung disease.
Serum cobalt concentrations are likely to be increased above the reference range in patients with joint prosthesis containing cobalt. Prosthetic devices produced by Depuy Company, Dow Corning, Howmedica, LCS, PCA, Osteonics, Richards Company, Tricon, and Whiteside are typically made of chromium, cobalt, and molybdenum. This list of products is incomplete, and these products change occasionally; see prosthesis product information for each device for composition details.
Reference Values Describes reference intervals and additional information for interpretation of test results. May include intervals based on age and sex when appropriate. Intervals are Mayo-derived, unless otherwise designated. If an interpretive report is provided, the reference value field will state this.
<1.0 ng/mL
Interpretation Provides information to assist in interpretation of the test results
Concentrations > or =1.0 ng/mL indicate possible environmental or occupational exposure. Cobalt concentrations associated with toxicity must be interpreted in the context of the source of exposure. If cobalt is ingested, concentrations > 5 ng/mL suggest major exposure and likely toxicity. If cobalt exposure is due to orthopedic implant wear, there are no large case number reports associating high circulating serum cobalt with toxicity.
There are no Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) blood or urine criteria for occupational exposure to cobalt.
Prosthesis wear is known to result in increased circulating concentration of metal ions. Modest increase (4-10 ng/mL) in serum cobalt concentration is likely to be associated with a prosthetic device in good condition. Serum concentrations >10 ng/mL in a patient with cobalt-based implant suggest significant prosthesis wear. Increased serum trace element concentrations in the absence of corroborating clinical information do not independently predict prosthesis wear or failure.
Cautions Discusses conditions that may cause diagnostic confusion, including improper specimen collection and handling, inappropriate test selection, and interfering substances
This test should not be ordered to assess vitamin B12 activity.
Because this test uses mass spectrometry detection, the radioactive form of cobalt, (60)Co, is not quantified.
High concentrations of gadolinium and iodine are known to interfere with most metals tests. If either gadolinium- or iodine-containing contrast media has been administered, a specimen should not be collected for 96 hours.
Specimen collection procedures for cobalt require special specimen collection tubes, rigorous attention to ultraclean specimen collection and handling procedures, and analysis in an ultraclean facility. Unless all of these precautions are taken, elevated serum cobalt results may be an incidental and misleading finding.
Clinical Reference Provides recommendations for further in-depth reading of a clinical nature
1. Tower SS: Arthroprosthetic cobaltism: neurological and cardiac manifestations in two patients with metal-on-metal arthroplasty: A case report. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2010;92:1-5
2. Keegan GM, Learmonth ID, Case CP: A systematic comparison of the actual, potential, and theoretical health effects of cobalt and chromium exposures from industry and surgical implants. Crit Rev Toxicol 2008;38:645-674
3. De Smet K, De Hann R, Calistri A, et al: Metal ion measurement as a diagnostic tool to identify problems with metal-on-metal hip resurfacing. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2008;90:202-208
4. Lison D, De Boeck M, Verougstraete V, Kirsch-Volders M: Update on the genotoxicity and carcinogenicity of cobalt compounds. Occup Environ Med 2001;58:619-625
Method Description Describes how the test is performed and provides a method-specific reference
This assay is performed on an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. Calibrating standards and blanks are diluted with an aqueous acidic diluent containing internal standard(s). Quality control specimens and patient samples are diluted in an identical manner. In turn, all diluted blanks, calibrating standards, quality control specimens, and patient specimens are aspirated into a pneumatic nebulizer and the resulting aerosol directed to the hot plasma discharge by a flow of argon. In the annular plasma the aerosol is vaporized, atomized, then ionized. The ionized gases plus neutral species formed in the annular plasma space are aspirated from the plasma through an orifice into a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The mass range from 1 to 263 amu is rapidly scanned multiple times and ion counts tabulated for each mass of interest. Instrument response is defined by the linear relationship of analyte concentration vs. ion count ratio (analyte ion count/internal standard ion count). Analyte concentrations are derived by reading the ion count ratio for each mass of interest and determining the concentration from the response line.(Unpublished Mayo method)
Day(s) and Time(s) Test Performed Outlines the days and times the test is performed. This field reflects the day and time the sample must be in the testing laboratory to begin the testing process and includes any specimen preparation and processing time required before the test is performed. Some tests are listed as continuously performed, which means assays are performed several times during the day.
Tuesday through Thursday, 8 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Analytic Time Defines the amount of time it takes the laboratory to setup and perform the test. This is defined in number of days. The shortest interval of time expressed is "same day/1 day," which means the results may be available the same day that the sample is received in the testing laboratory. One day means results are available 1 day after the sample is received in the laboratory.
Maximum Laboratory Time Defines the maximum time from specimen receipt at Mayo Medical Laboratories until the release of the test result
Specimen Retention Time Outlines the length of time after testing that a specimen is kept in the laboratory before it is discarded
Performing Laboratory Location The location of the laboratory that performs the test
Test Classification Provides information regarding the medical device classification for laboratory test kits and reagents. Tests may be classified as cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and used per manufacturer's instructions, or as products that do not undergo full FDA review and approval, and are then labeled as an Analyte Specific Reagent (ASR), Investigation Use Only (IUO) product, or a Research Use Only (RUO) product.
CPT Code Information Provides guidance in determining the appropriate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code(s) information for each test or profile. The listed CPT codes reflect Mayo Medical Laboratories interpretation of CPT coding requirements. It is the responsibility of each laboratory to determine correct CPT codes to use for billing.
83789
LOINC® Code Information Provides guidance in determining the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) values for the result codes returned for this test or profile.
| Result ID | Reporting Name | LOINC Code |
|---|---|---|
| 80084 | Cobalt, S | 5627-5 |
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