At a glance
| Analyte | Total cholesterol |
|---|---|
| Also called | TC, Cholesterol |
| Method | Enzymatic colorimetric (CHOD-PAP) |
| Sample type | Serum, Plasma |
| Panel | Lipid |
| Discipline | Clinical chemistry |
| Brand | Mindray |
What Total Cholesterol measures
Total cholesterol counts the cholesterol carried in every lipoprotein fraction together, which is why it is a weak predictor when read alone: a patient with a high total driven by a high protective HDL fraction is in a very different position from one whose total is identical but concentrated in LDL. Its role is as the anchor of the lipid profile rather than as a standalone test. Laboratories measure it with triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, and the profile then supports cardiovascular risk assessment, decisions about lipid-lowering therapy, and the monitoring of patients already on treatment. It is also the value from which LDL cholesterol is calculated where a direct measurement is not run.
How Philippine laboratories run it
The lipid profile is a standard component of Philippine annual physical examination and executive check-up packages, so total cholesterol arrives in the same corporate batches as SGPT and FBS, and the four lipid reagents should be scheduled together as one block rather than individually. Fasting requirements are a practical constraint on the bench here: profiles cluster in the early morning because patients come in fasting, which concentrates the workload rather than spreading it. Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death nationally, so this profile generates ongoing monitoring as well as screening volume.
Analyzers it runs on
Calibrator, controls and companion tests
Delivered with its calibrator, both control levels and the rest of the lipid panel, on the same schedule as Total Cholesterol.
Storage and handling
Refrigerated and kept closed when off the analyzer.
Buying Total Cholesterol in the Philippines
Total Cholesterol is supplied for the BS-600M, BS-430, BS-360E, BS-240Pro, BS-230 and BA-88A. We deliver it with Lipid Calibrator and Chemistry Control Level 1, because a run held up waiting on a separate order costs the same shift a stock-out does. Delivery is scheduled against your monthly Total Cholesterol count, so the bench is not rationing tests in the last week of the month. How we plan clinical chemistry supply.
Questions about Total Cholesterol
Why is total cholesterol not enough on its own?
Because it counts protective and harmful fractions together. Two patients with the same total cholesterol can carry very different cardiovascular risk depending on how much of it sits in HDL versus LDL. That is why laboratories report a profile rather than a single figure, and why the four lipid reagents are ordered and scheduled as one block.
Does the patient need to fast for a cholesterol measurement?
Total cholesterol itself changes relatively little after a meal, so a non-fasting sample is usually acceptable for it alone. The reason Philippine laboratories still ask for a fasting sample is the rest of the profile: triglycerides rise substantially after eating, and where LDL is calculated rather than measured, that makes the calculated LDL unreliable too. The fasting requirement belongs to the profile, not to this assay.
Order Total Cholesterol
Tell us your monthly Total Cholesterol volume and we will quote a supply schedule for BS-600M. We reply within one business day.
Request a quotation