At a glance
| Analyte | Cortisol |
|---|---|
| Also called | Serum cortisol, Hydrocortisone |
| Method | Competitive chemiluminescence immunoassay |
| Sample type | Serum, Plasma |
| Panel | Adrenal |
| Discipline | CLIA immunoassay |
| Brand | Mindray |
What Cortisol measures
Cortisol is the principal glucocorticoid, released by the adrenal cortex under pituitary control, and its concentration follows a pronounced daily rhythm: highest in the early morning and falling to a trough late at night. Any interpretation therefore depends entirely on when the sample was taken, and a request that does not record the collection time is largely uninterpretable. Cortisol is measured in the assessment of suspected adrenal insufficiency and of cortisol excess, usually as part of a defined protocol involving samples at specified times or before and after a stimulus, rather than as a single random measurement.
How Philippine laboratories run it
Requested by endocrinology services and, in an acute setting, in the assessment of suspected adrenal insufficiency in an unwell patient, where it is urgent. The laboratory’s main practical contribution here is insisting that the collection time is recorded on the request, because without it the result cannot be reported meaningfully and the sample is effectively wasted. Where dynamic testing is being performed the laboratory receives several timed samples from one patient, so a single clinical episode consumes multiple determinations and should be planned as such.
Analyzers it runs on
Calibrator, controls and companion tests
Delivered with the rest of the adrenal panel, on the same schedule as Cortisol.
Storage and handling
Refrigerated, upright, and not frozen.
Buying Cortisol in the Philippines
Cortisol is supplied for the CL-2600i and CL-900i. We deliver it with TSH, because a run held up waiting on a separate order costs the same shift a stock-out does. Delivery is scheduled against your monthly Cortisol count, so the bench is not rationing tests in the last week of the month. How we plan clia immunoassay supply.
Questions about Cortisol
Why does the laboratory insist on the collection time?
Because cortisol follows a strong daily rhythm, peaking in the early morning and falling to a trough at night. The same concentration can be entirely normal at one time of day and clearly abnormal at another, so a result without a recorded collection time cannot be interpreted. Recording the time is what makes the sample usable.
Order Cortisol
Tell us your monthly Cortisol volume and we will quote a supply schedule for CL-2600i. We reply within one business day.
Request a quotation