At a glance
| Analyte | Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) |
|---|---|
| Also called | VB12, Cobalamin, Vit B12 |
| Method | Competitive chemiluminescence immunoassay |
| Sample type | Serum, Plasma |
| Panel | Anaemia |
| Discipline | CLIA immunoassay |
| Brand | Mindray |
What Vitamin B12 measures
Vitamin B12 is required for DNA synthesis and for the maintenance of the nervous system, and it is absorbed through a specific mechanism in the terminal ileum that depends on intrinsic factor produced by the stomach. Deficiency therefore arises from inadequate intake, from loss of intrinsic factor, or from disease or surgery affecting the terminal ileum. It produces a macrocytic anaemia, and separately a neurological syndrome that can appear without the anaemia and that does not fully reverse if treatment is delayed. That second point is why the test is requested in the investigation of unexplained neuropathy and cognitive change, not only in the anaemia workup.
How Philippine laboratories run it
Most requests follow a complete blood count showing macrocytosis, so like ferritin this assay is driven by hematology workload rather than by the immunoassay menu in isolation. A second stream comes from neurology and geriatric services investigating unexplained neurological symptoms. Both are diagnostic rather than monitoring requests, which gives a steadier and lower-volume pattern than the thyroid assays. Laboratories offering it should note that it is often ordered together with folate, and a request for one frequently implies the other.
Analyzers it runs on
Calibrator, controls and companion tests
Delivered with the rest of the anaemia panel, on the same schedule as Vitamin B12.
Storage and handling
Refrigerated, upright, and not frozen.
Buying Vitamin B12 in the Philippines
Vitamin B12 is supplied for the CL-2600i and CL-900i. We deliver it with Ferritin, because a run held up waiting on a separate order costs the same shift a stock-out does. Delivery is scheduled against your monthly Vitamin B12 count, so the bench is not rationing tests in the last week of the month. How we plan clia immunoassay supply.
Questions about Vitamin B12
Why is B12 measured in patients without anaemia?
Because the neurological effects of deficiency can appear before, or without, any change in the blood count, and they do not fully reverse if treatment is delayed. That is why unexplained neuropathy, cognitive change or gait disturbance are recognised reasons to measure it, quite separately from the macrocytic anaemia most people associate it with.
Order Vitamin B12
Tell us your monthly Vitamin B12 volume and we will quote a supply schedule for CL-2600i. We reply within one business day.
Request a quotation