Test Directory

Measurement of copeptin levels in plasma.

Specimen Type: Plasma

Collection Container: Lavender Top (EDTA)

Desired Specimen Volume: 0.5 mL

1. Collect a lavender top (EDTA) tube via venipuncture.

1. Separate plasma from cells.
2. Transfer 0.5 mL of plasma to a clear aliquot tube (screw cap)

Transport to the laboratory refrigerated. 

• Gross lipemia
• Gross hemolysis
• Gross icterus

See patient report.

• Sepsis, severe sepsis, septic shock, lower respiratory tract infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cardiovascular diseases, i.e., chronic heart failure may increase copeptin concentrations.

• Arginine vasopressin (AVP) receptor antagonist therapies and other diseases in which AVP has been shown to play an important pathophysiologic role may also increase copeptin concentration.

• Mixed forms of diabetes insipidus (DI) can exist, and both central and peripheral DI may be incomplete, complicating the interpretation of results.

• Patients with long-standing psychogenic polydipsia may have copeptin levels suggestive of mild nephrogenic DI.

• While an elevated plasma copeptin concentration in a hyponatremic patient can be suggestive of the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), copeptin determination alone is not typically sufficient to distinguish SIADH from other hyponatremic disorders.

• Some patients who have been exposed to animal antigens, either in the environment or as part of treatment or imaging procedures, may have circulating anti-animal antibodies present. These antibodies may interfere with the assay reagents to produce unreliable results.