Errors at Quest Diagnostics - was your lab report a mistake?

The nation's largest lab has admitted errors in its Vitamin D testing over the last two years. This is important to Migraineurs and chronic pain patients because those with either condition tend to be lower in vitamin D than 'normal'. Doctors think lowered vitamin D status could be making us more prone to pain issues.

Unfortunately, the specific vitamin D test to which the company admits wrongdoing was not mentioned in the article. There are multiple tests for vitamin D including 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Most physicians consider the latter to be the correct test. In this particular case, the test results were reported as 'inaccurate' but the company did not comment if they ran high or low. Falsely elevated levels would leave countless hundreds or thousands believing they are in good health, while the reality is terribly different. Falsely low levels could result in an equally great number of patients supplementing themselves into a toxic situation.

Ranges for this test are somewhat fluid, there continues to be disagreement on what is the best level to maintain. Most doctors know there is a difference between 'normal' and 'optimal' and will take the patient's overall health status and history into consideration when looking at their lab values. Generally speaking, staying above 30 is bare-bones (pun intended) necessary for basic health, and above 50 is best. Levels above 100 are considered in excess and dangerous/toxic.

Although many labs have the ability to do this test, not all labs are FDA approved for it Diasorin is generally considered the 'best' facility, using the best type of 25-hydroxyvitamin D test called an RIA. In fact Diasorin is the lab of choice, and RIA 25-hydroxyvitamin D the test of choice used during research studies on Vitamin D status.

Because of the different types of testing for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (RIA, LC-MS/MS, Liaison) and all have variable abilities to detect 25-hydroxyvitamin D, it makes sense to use the lab and test from whence the 'normal ranges' originated. It's at least important that you find out if your lab has performed the appropriate recalibrations against DiaSorin’s assays.

Amazingly enough, Vitamin D3 is actually a steroid hormone, and like other hormones in your body, what may be good for you may not be good for another person. This is why hormones are best looked at while taking all things into consideration, not just a lab value. A good doctor will either know how to do this already, or will be eager to learn. There is a difference between normal and optimal, and although you may fall within normal ranges, this may not be optimal for your body.

As you ponder the NYT article, please consider these questions:

* How do I know if I was tested for Vitamin D?
* How do I know my exact results?
* Why is it important for me to know this information?
* How can I find out if my test was accurate?
* How do I know that all my other tests have been done appropriately?
* What do I do now?

For the answers to some of these questions, click here - Medical mistakes - making the case for personal record keeping

The rest I will try to tackle in another post. For this moment I'm trying to maintain a professional attitude while dealing with the personal side of this story.

Stay tuned for more details...

Sources: Diasorin, New York Times, Linus Pauling Institute - Oregon State University, Mercola.com