Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Protein Expression Flow Cytometry, Blood (Referred Out ) - Saskatoon

Overview

Description

Ordering recommendation

• Specimen collection is only available from Monday to Thursday between 0800 and 1200; Specimen needs to be received at St. Paul’s Hospital Laboratory before 13:00 for an overnight courier, otherwise the test will be canceled.

Test ordering requirements

Preferred specimen collection

• Recommend collect pediatric patients at RUH

Forms required

• Requisitions must have specific test indicated
• SHR Laboratory Medicine Community Laboratory Requisition Form #101064 or Acute Care Phlebotomy Requisition Form #101062

Alias

• BTK (Bruton’s tyrosine kinase)
• Tyrosine kinase
• X-linked agammablobulinemia (XLA)

Specimen Information

Specimen types accepted

• Whole blood

Specimen collection container

• Preferred collection container-Adult: Yellow (ACD) tube 8.5 mL
• Preferred collection container-Pediatric: Blue (Sodium Citrate) tube 1.8 mL
• Alternate collection container: Dark Green (Sodium Heparin) 4.0 mL

Collection procedure

• Collect a normal, preferably age-matched specimen and transport with patient specimen.
• Do not centrifuge, send whole blood to SPH lab

Required volume

• Optimal volume: Full collection tube
• Minimum volume: 1 mL whole blood
  • (Submitting the minimum volume makes it impossible to repeat the test or perform confirmatory/reflex testing. In some situations, a minimum volume may require a second collection. Chemistry may be able to do up to 10 tests with 0.75 mL blood.)
• Pediatric volume: 1.8 mL whole blood

Transport and stability

• Whole blood stable at room temperature for 24 hours
• Ship at 4°C to the referral site using an overnight courier.

Rejection criteria

• Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Acceptance and Rejection Criteria
   

Performance

Methodology

• Flow Cytometry
   

Days/times performed

Availability	Monday to Thursday 0800 to 1200 Sent to referral lab as received at St. Paul’s Hospital Laboratory
Testing site	Referred out by St. Paul’s Hospital Laboratory to Foothills Medical Centre-Flow Cytometry (Calgary)

 

Maximum laboratory time

Results reporting

• 2 day turnaround time by referral laboratory
   

Other information

Additional comments

• Intracellular staining for BTK protein expression in B cells and monocytes is used to screen males, or female carriers, for X-linked agammaglobulinemia

Last Updated: January 9, 2026