Biochemistry

Preferred Sample Type

Amylase (serum)

Suitable Specimen Types

Serum

Amylase (serum)

Specimen Volume

1mL blood (~250uL sample)

Turnaround Time

24 hours

Sample Processing In Laboratory

No special requirements

Sample Stability

1 month at 2-8°C

General Information

Amylase is important for diagnosis and monitoring of acute or chronic pancreatitis because of the lack of specific clinical symptoms. Acute pancreatitis occurs most commonly because of obstruction of the pancreatic duct or abdominal trauma causing physical damage to the pancreas. Amylase may be 5 to 20 times higher than normal in acute pancreatitis but as grossly elevated levels may be evident for only a short time, a slightly increased level does not necessarily exclude pancreatitis. Elevated serum pancreatic amylase is not diagnostic of pancreatitis but its elevation in urine is confirmatory of pancreatitis, pancreatic trauma or carcinoma as the amylase released is not completely bound by the immune complex and therefore subject to glomerular filtration.

Amylase can also be raised in other conditions such as severe uraemia, severe diabetic ketoacidosis, other acute abdominal disorders, salivary gland disorders or macroamylasaemia.

Patient Preparation

Saliva and sweat contain amylase and care should be taken to avoid contamination.

Reference Range

25 - 125 IU/L

Source of Reference Range

Abbott Diagnostics

Specifications

  • EQA Status:

    UK NEQAS for Clinical Chemistry Scheme

  • EQAS Scheme: Yes

Link to Further Information

http://www.labtestsonline.org.uk/understanding/analytes/amylase/

Creation Date

Monday, 08 August 2011

Modification Date

Monday, 06 November 2023

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Protection of Personal Information – Clinical Laboratory Services comply with the Trust Data Protection Policy and have procedures in place to allow the Directorate and it’s employees to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and associated best practice and guidance.

University Hospitals Birmingham medical laboratories at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital and Solihull Hospital are UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accredited to the ISO 15189:2012 standard. For a list of accredited tests and other information please visit the UKAS website using the following link: https://www.ukas.com/find-an-organisation/

  • Molecular Pathology is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 8759
  • Biochemistry is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 8910
  • Haematology and Transfusion is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 8784
  • Clinical Microbiology is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 8760
  • Cellular Pathology is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 10141
  • Musculoskeletal laboratory is a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No. 9897
  • Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull Hospital pathology laboratories are a UKAS accredited medical laboratory No.8217.

Tests not appearing on the UKAS Schedule of Accreditation currently remain outside of our scope of accreditation. However, these tests have been validated to the same high standard as accredited tests and are performed by the same trained and competent staff.

For further test information, please visit the test database: http://qehbpathology.uk/test-database

For further information contact Louise Fallon, Quality Manager, 0121 371 5962