Special Precautions/Comments:

N.B. Please clearly label all known high risk samples with Danger of Infection stickers.

Samples that are grossly lipaemic, icteric or haemolysed will not be processed and a repeat sample will be requested.

Interferences:  Samples should not be taken from patients receiving therapy with high biotin doses (i.e. > 5 mg/day) until at least 8 hours following the last biotin administration.

No interference was observed from rheumatoid factors up to a concentration of 676 IU/mL.

In rare cases, interference due to extremely high titres of antibodies to analyte‑specific antibodies or ruthenium can occur. These effects are minimised by suitable test design.

Extremely high titres of antibodies to streptavidin can occur in isolated cases and cause interference.

Method:  Chemiluminescent testing of serum for the detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen/antibodies, HIV and syphilis. Calibration: Roche QC material.  EQA scheme: NEQAS EQA schemes IQC: Roche individual QC for each assay.

Interpretation:  Results will be reported as Positive, Equivocal or Negative.

New positive/equivocal results will be referred to Freeman Road serology department for further/conformation testing. For diagnostic purposes, the results should always be assessed in conjunction with the patient’s medical history, clinical examination and other findings.

Midwives in all units should follow up results at the 16 week check to ensure that the patients have a completed result.

Additional Information:

Background information:  The Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening (IDPS) Programme is responsible for ensuring that screening to identify maternal HIV, Hepatitis B virus, Syphilis is offered early in pregnancy. It is an essential component of strategies to prevent mother to child transmission of Hepatitis B virus, HIV and Syphilis.

Additional testing: Additional testing may be performed on booking bloods up to two years post-sample collection. This includes; varicella zoster virus (chicken pox), parvovirus, and rubella antibody testing. All additional testing should be requested via contacting the laboratory by telephone. Callers will be asked to provide their name, position, contact number and practice/ward, along with any further clinical information (such as date of contact/exposure).