Escitalopram

Overview

  • EPIC Code:
  • MISC
  • Soft Test Code:
  • MSOT
  • Send Out Test Code:
  • 15857
Alternate Names
  • Celexa®
  • Escitalopram
  • Lexapro®
Clinical Significance

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Antidepressant


Specimen Collection & Preparation

Specimen Requirements:

-OR-

1.0 mL Serum from a Red Top Tube in a Plastic Vial
Minimum Volume:
0.4 mL*

* This volume does not allow for repeat testing

Processing Instructions:

Specimen must be centrifuged and separated from cells within 1 hour of collection


Rejection Criteria:

Separation tubes containing polymer gel

Serum Separator Tube (SST)

Plasma Separtor Tube (PST)


Transport and Storage:
  • Ambient: 30 Days

    Transport 

  • Frozen (-20 C or colder): 7 Months

    Do not use frost free units that undergo repeated freeze/thaw cycles.

Clinical Interpretation

Reference Range:

Steady-state peak plasma levels from patients on regimen of  10 or 30 mg/day: 21 and 64 ng/mL, respecitvely, and occur at approximately 4 hours post dose.
This test is not Chiral specific. Patients who have taken Racemic Citalopram (Celexa®), as opposed to Escitalopram (Lexapro®), within the past 3 days may have falsely elevated values.


Methodology:
  • High Performance Liquid Chromatography / Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)
Clinical Significance

Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Antidepressant


Production Schedule

Sites Performed
  • Quest - Chantilly to Quest Lewisville
Days Performed
Tuesday
Thursday
Departments
  • Sendouts - Miscellaneous
Turn Around Time

4 to 5 days


Coding & Compliance

CDM

00913333


CPT Coding

80332