Please check back frequently for important testing information.

August 27, 2008

Appropriate testing for Listeriosis

At LifeLabs we are experiencing substantial increase in the number of blood cultures sent for Listeriosis. We wish to remind the clinicians about the guidelines for testing for Listeriosis. Please order blood cultures only if the patient is symptomatic. There is no role for screening for Listeriosis. The ordering of blood cultures for screening will impact a laboratory’s ability to deliver optimal service to patients requiring tests for diagnosis and management.

Listeriosis is a foodborne illness that starts after ingestion of contaminated food. Recently a number of cases were detected in Ontario started in June 2008.

• Symptoms include: flu-like symptoms, nausea, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, headache, constipation and persistent fever. Symptoms usually appear within 2 to 30 days and up to 70 days after consuming contaminated food.
• The very young, elderly or those with poorly functioning immune systems are the most susceptible. Flu-like symptoms may be followed by a brain or blood infection, either of which can result in death.
• A woman who develops listeriosis during the first three months of pregnancy may miscarry. If she develops listeriosis later in the pregnancy, her baby may be stillborn or acutely ill.

If the patient is deemed appropriate for testing for Listeria, acceptable samples include blood cultures and cerebrospinal fluid/CSF cultures. Stool cultures will not be accepted. 

Click here to see the Ontario Public Health Laboratories “Labstract” on this topic.

** Update on Turn Around Times **


We are currently experiencing normal turn around times.

May 9, 2008 

As we transition between Chemistry platforms, we have been experiencing intermittent downtime, which has sporadically affected our turn around times, mainly for biochemistry tests. Together with the manufacturer of the equipment, we are taking appropriate action to improve the performance of the analytical system.

In an urgent or serious medical situation, we recommend establishing that we are able to meet the particular requirement of your patient by following a process which is similar to when you are requesting tests on an urgent basis which are not included on the list of those regularly available.

During the implementation of our new analytical platform, we invite you to directly call 1-877-675-4530 x2600 to confirm we are able to deliver what you require in specific clinical circumstances. If we are experiencing a delay in testing, we will post this information on this section of our website.

We are confident that our normal turn around times will be restored and commit to keep you informed of our progress in this regard.

  February 25, 2008 

As we transition between Chemistry platforms, you may receive reports with different reference intervals quoted for the same test (even if on the same patient). We would like to reassure you that the reference intervals that appear on the patient report and any flagging throughout the report are appropriate for the technology used in the quantitation of each analyte and should be referred to in your interpretation of results.

Cumulative reports will reflect the appropriate reference interval based on the methodology used to quantitate the analyte. If the reference interval has changed, the test result will appear on a separate line on the cumulative report.

The appearance of a “banner” at the top of a patient report indicates that the analysis was completed using the new technology. A list of the analytes that have required reference interval changes is included in the banner message.

The delivery of reports with different reference intervals on Chemistry test results is temporary and will end once we have completed our transition to the new platform.

We apologize for the delay in service to you and your patients and for any inconvenience caused by the delivery of different reference intervals. We will update you once we have fully transitioned to the new platform.

Click here to view tables showing current reporting guidlines.

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November 1, 2007    MDS Diagnostic Services is Now LifeLabs


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October 2007

Patient specimens for laboratory analysis must be labeled with two unique identifiers in order to be tested. The correct interpretation or analytical result on a specimen attributed to the wrong individual may be most difficult to detect and investigate. Consequently, we request that you or your staff ensure that all specimens are labeled with:

• Patient Full name – Full first name and full last name (as it appears on their Healthcard)
• One other identifier such as the patient’s Date of Birth or Healthcard number

Our experience is that computer generated labels are ideal, provided that they comply with the above requirements.

LifeLabs, along with all Ontario licensed laboratories must achieve compliance with mandatory Ontario Laboratory Accreditation (OLA) requirements to promote patient safety.

Effective January 1, 2008 LifeLabs will reject specimens that do not meet the above labeling requirements.

Specimens cannot be returned to your office so please ensure that they are correctly labeled prior to submission for testing.

The Public Health Laboratory does not accept OHIP requisitions. Therefore, a completed Public Health Laboratory requisition must accompany all specimens submitted directly by you for all tests performed by Ontario Public Health Laboratories. The information requested by Public Health Laboratories may be of a sensitive and private nature; therefore it is very important that the requisitions be completed by the practitioner ordering the tests. Importantly, this removes the potential for an error during transcription or misordering of uncommon tests. Therefore, LifeLabs can no longer transcribe information on your behalf because this introduces an unnecessary point of error and may impact patient safety.

Effective, January 1, 2008, LifeLabs will not process Public Health test requests without a separate completed Public Health Laboratory test requisition.

If you do not have a supply of Public Health Laboratory test requisitions these may be obtained by calling the Laboratory Services Branch Supply Services at (416) 235 – 5737.

Please bring this notice to the attention of your office staff responsible for the procurement and labeling of laboratory specimens.