Test Catalog

Test Id : HQ

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HemoQuant, Feces

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Overview

Test Catalog

Useful For
Suggests clinical disorders or settings where the test may be helpful

Detection of blood in feces

 

Evaluation of iron deficiency

 

Detection of bleeding as a complication of anticoagulant therapy and other medication regimens

 

This test is not specific for bowel cancer.

Method Name
A short description of the method used to perform the test

Fluorescence Quantitation

NY State Available
Indicates the status of NY State approval and if the test is orderable for NY State clients.

Yes

Reporting Name
Lists a shorter or abbreviated version of the Published Name for a test

Hemoquant, F

Aliases
Lists additional common names for a test, as an aid in searching

Blood, Feces

Fecal Blood

Occult Blood, Feces

Stool for Blood

Stool, Hemoquant

Specimen Type
Describes the specimen type validated for testing

Fecal

Specimen Required
Defines the optimal specimen required to perform the test and the preferred volume to complete testing

Patient Preparation: Patient should refrain from ingesting red meat and aspirin-containing products (eg, Excedrin, Aspirin) for 3 days prior to specimen collection.

Collection Container/Tube: Hemoquant Specimen Collection (T134)

Submission Container/Tube: Screw-capped tube

Specimen Volume: 1 g

Collection Instructions: Collect random specimen from a single defecation.

Specimen Minimum Volume
Defines the amount of sample necessary to provide a clinically relevant result as determined by the testing laboratory. The minimum volume is sufficient for one attempt at testing.

1 g

Reject Due To
Identifies specimen types and conditions that may cause the specimen to be rejected

Gross hemolysis OK

Specimen Stability Information
Provides a description of the temperatures required to transport a specimen to the performing laboratory, alternate acceptable temperatures are also included

Specimen Type Temperature Time Special Container
Fecal Refrigerated (preferred) 7 days
Ambient 7 days
Frozen

Useful For
Suggests clinical disorders or settings where the test may be helpful

Detection of blood in feces

 

Evaluation of iron deficiency

 

Detection of bleeding as a complication of anticoagulant therapy and other medication regimens

 

This test is not specific for bowel cancer.

Clinical Information
Discusses physiology, pathophysiology, and general clinical aspects, as they relate to a laboratory test

Several noninvasive tests are available to detect gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. However, guaiac type and immunochemical tests for occult bleeding are affected by the presence of reducing or oxidizing substances and are insensitive for the detection of upper GI tract (esophagogastric) bleeding, where most clinically significant occult GI bleeding occurs.

 

The HemoQuant test is the most reliable, noninvasive test currently available for detecting bleeding of the esophago-GI tract. Unlike other tests for blood in feces, this test detects both intact heme and porphyrins from partly degraded heme. Additionally, test results are not complicated by either the water content of the specimen or the presence of reducing or oxidizing substances. Furthermore, HemoQuant testing is sensitive to both proximal and distal sources of occult GI bleeding.

 

Normally, one gram of feces may contain 0.0 to 2.0 mg hemoglobin; this corresponds to a daily loss of up to 2 mL blood. A demonstration of increased Hb in feces indicates bleeding in the alimentary tract (or ingestion of anticoagulants, aspirin, or red meat).

Reference Values
Describes reference intervals and additional information for interpretation of test results. May include intervals based on age and sex when appropriate. Intervals are Mayo-derived, unless otherwise designated. If an interpretive report is provided, the reference value field will state this.

Normal:

< or =2.0 mg total hemoglobin/g feces

 

Marginal:

2.1-4.0 mg total hemoglobin/g feces*

*2.1-4.0 mg Hb/g is considered marginally elevated, but not clinically significant, if red meat, warfarin, or aspirin was ingested 72 hours prior to collection.

 

Elevated:

>4.0 mg total hemoglobin/g feces

Interpretation
Provides information to assist in interpretation of the test results

Elevated levels are an indicator of the presence of blood in the feces, either from benign or malignant causes.

Cautions
Discusses conditions that may cause diagnostic confusion, including improper specimen collection and handling, inappropriate test selection, and interfering substances

Heme from ingested red meat will increase HemoQuant test values. Patients should be advised to avoid eating red meat for 3 days before collecting specimens. Fish and poultry may be substituted.

 

The elevated porphyrins of lead intoxication, erythrocytic protoporphyria and variegate porphyria may raise HemoQuant values in the absence of gut bleeding.

 

Recent studies have indicated that cancerous lesions in their early stages often do not bleed or bleed only intermittently.

Clinical Reference
Recommendations for in-depth reading of a clinical nature

1. Ahlquist DA, McGill DB, Schwartz S, Taylor WF, Ellefson M, Owen RA. HemoQuant, a new quantitative assay for fecal hemoglobin. Comparison with Hemoccult. Ann Intern Med. 1984;101(3):297-302

2. Ahlquist DA, Wieand HS, Moertel CG, et al. Accuracy of fecal occult blood screening for colorectal neoplasia. A prospective study using Hemoccult and HemoQuant tests. JAMA. 1993;269(10):1262-1267

3. Harewood GC, McConnell JP, Harrington JJ, Mahoney DW, Ahlquist DA. Detection of occult upper gastrointestinal bleeding: performance differences in fecal blood tests. Mayo Clin Proc. 2002;77(1):23-28

4. Ahlquist DA, McGill DB, Schwartz S, Taylor WF, Owens RA. Fecal blood levels in health and disease. A study using HemoQuant. N Engl J Med. 1985;312(22):1422-1428

5. Barber MD, Abraham A, Brydon WG, Waldron BM, Williams AJ. Assessment of faecal occult blood loss by qualitative and quantitative methods. J R Coll Surg Edinb. 2002;47(2):491-494

6. Rockey DC, Altayar O, Falck-Ytter Y, Kalmaz D. AGA Technical review on gastrointestinal evaluation of iron deficiency anemia. Gastroenterology. 2020;159(3):1097-1119. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2020.06.045

Method Description
Describes how the test is performed and provides a method-specific reference

Hemoglobin and the heme released by hemoglobin degradation are converted to porphyrins. These porphyrins are quantified by fluorescence measurement after extraction of any interfering fluorescing substances.(Schwartz S, Dahl J, Ellefson M, Ahlquist D. The "HemoQuant" test: a specific and quantitative determination of heme [hemoglobin] in feces and other materials. Clin Chem 1983;29[12]:2061-2067)

PDF Report
Indicates whether the report includes an additional document with charts, images or other enriched information

No

Day(s) Performed
Outlines the days the test is performed. This field reflects the day that the sample must be in the testing laboratory to begin the testing process and includes any specimen preparation and processing time before the test is performed. Some tests are listed as continuously performed, which means that assays are performed multiple times during the day.

Monday through Saturday

Report Available
The interval of time (receipt of sample at Mayo Clinic Laboratories to results available) taking into account standard setup days and weekends. The first day is the time that it typically takes for a result to be available. The last day is the time it might take, accounting for any necessary repeated testing.

1 to 2 days

Specimen Retention Time
Outlines the length of time after testing that a specimen is kept in the laboratory before it is discarded

14 days

Performing Laboratory Location
Indicates the location of the laboratory that performs the test

Rochester

Fees
Several factors determine the fee charged to perform a test. Contact your U.S. or International Regional Manager for information about establishing a fee schedule or to learn more about resources to optimize test selection.

  • Authorized users can sign in to Test Prices for detailed fee information.
  • Clients without access to Test Prices can contact Customer Service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  • Prospective clients should contact their account representative. For assistance, contact Customer Service.

Test Classification
Provides information regarding the medical device classification for laboratory test kits and reagents. Tests may be classified as cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and used per manufacturer instructions, or as products that do not undergo full FDA review and approval, and are then labeled as an Analyte Specific Reagent (ASR) product.

This test was developed and its performance characteristics determined by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements. It has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

CPT Code Information
Provides guidance in determining the appropriate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code(s) information for each test or profile. The listed CPT codes reflect Mayo Clinic Laboratories interpretation of CPT coding requirements. It is the responsibility of each laboratory to determine correct CPT codes to use for billing.

CPT codes are provided by the performing laboratory.

84126

LOINC® Information
Provides guidance in determining the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) values for the order and results codes of this test. LOINC values are provided by the performing laboratory.

Test Id Test Order Name Order LOINC Value
HQ Hemoquant, F 27396-1
Result Id Test Result Name Result LOINC Value
Applies only to results expressed in units of measure originally reported by the performing laboratory. These values do not apply to results that are converted to other units of measure.
2410 Fecal Hemoglobin 27396-1

Test Setup Resources

Setup Files
Test setup information contains test file definition details to support order and result interfacing between Mayo Clinic Laboratories and your Laboratory Information System.

Excel | Pdf

Sample Reports
Normal and Abnormal sample reports are provided as references for report appearance.

Normal Reports | Abnormal Reports

SI Sample Reports
International System (SI) of Unit reports are provided for a limited number of tests. These reports are intended for international account use and are only available through MayoLINK accounts that have been defined to receive them.

SI Normal Reports | SI Abnormal Reports