My name is Nirit Keren, and I am the Manager of Data Gathering and Genetic Monitoring from Labs at the Israeli Ministry of Health. We are currently implementing LOINC codes in our disease investigation processes. Not all lab codes are mapped and known to the workers who gather the data, which is why we need generic codes.
I have found a generic code for culture, but not for nucleic acid amplification (NAA). I would appreciate your help in identifying if there are generic codes for the following:
Bacteria identified in Specimen by NAA
Fungus identified in Specimen by NAA
Parasite identified in Specimen by NAA
Virus identified in Specimen by NAA
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) [identification] in specimen
Immunoglobulin G (IgM) [identification] in specimen
Due to time constraints, we are unable to wait for new codes to be created.
Thank you for your assistance.
As you know, unlike a culture where the organism is identified based on growth patterns and phenotypic traits, Nucleic Acid Amplification tests identify the organism genetic material in a specimen. Likely what you will be looking for are LOINC codes in the format of DNA (or RNA) presence in specimen by NAA. You may want to review the following to determine if they are applicable based on your manufacturer’s insert for the test being performed.
For example:
105626-6 | Bacteria DNA [Presence] in Specimen by NAA with probe detection |
105685-2 | Fungus DNA [Presence] in Specimen by NAA with probe detection |
50548-7 | Respiratory virus DNA+RNA [Identifier] in Specimen by NAA with probe detection |
I am not finding LOINC Codes for IgG or IgM by NAA likely because these LOINC codes have not been requested. I did find one research paper from 2000 that indicated IgG by NAA produced unreliable results, but that was 25 years ago so I don’t know if this test method for IgG or IgM was refined or abandoned.
As a non-laboratorian, I will defer to my laboratorian colleagues for verification. @pdbanning and @pitk0006, how far afield am I?
Pam and John, thank you for your help. I’m not sure why I couldn’t find the bacteria and fungus codes on my own. Could you please assist me in finding the virus code?
There does not appear to be a generic virus DNA LOINC code as there is for Bacteria and Fungus. The manufacturer’s insert should indicate which virus or viruses the test is valid for. Search for those specific organism names in LOINC and that should lead you to the correct LOINC code. It may also be wise to use the generic bacteria and fungus LOINC codes sparingly. Here again, the manufacturer insert will indicate which organisms the test is valid for. Search specifically for that organism by NAA to identify the correct LOINC code. In some cases, a test kit will be valid for multiple organisms. In cases like this, you may need to look for a LOINC code similar to LOINC 81655-3 | Respiratory pathogens DNA and RNA identified in Respiratory system specimen by NAA with probe detection| (LOINC 81655-3 Respiratory pathogens DNA and RNA identified in Respiratory system specimen by NAA with probe detection) for mapping.
