Clinical Lab Handbook

Handling: Centrifuge specimens and remove the serum from the cellular material within 5 days of collection.

Container/Tube: Serum gel (SST) tube

Alternate Container: Red Top

Specimen Volume: 3.5 mL or 5 mL

Collections Instructions: Acetaminophen specimens should not be drawn earlier than four hours after ingestion. If the time of ingestion is not known, two or more blood samples taken at two three-hour intervals may be used to estimate acetaminophen half-life and assess toxicity.

Colorimetric

VITROS Chemistry Products ACET Slides quantitatively measure acetaminophen (ACET) concentration in serum using VITROS XT 3400 Chemistry Systems and the VITROS XT 7600 Integrated Systems.

Acetaminophen is a commonly used therapeutic drug with analgesic and antipyretic properties. Acetaminophen measurements are useful in the diagnosis and treatment of acute overdose, which can result in severe hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity.

A drop of patient sample is deposited on the slide and is evenly distributed by the spreading layer to the underlying layers. Acetaminophen in the sample is hydrolyzed to p-aminophenol by aryl acyl amidase (AAA). This reaction is followed by ferricyanide oxidation of p-aminophenol and coupling with 1-3-sulfopropyl-1,2,3,4- tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) to form a dye. The reflection density of the dye is measured and is directly proportional to the concentration of acetaminophen in the sample.

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