Can Metal Levels be Measured at a Community Laboratory?

There remain concerns about the ability of community laboratories to accurately measure blood metal levels as one piece of the monitoring and treatment algorithms for patients with a metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (THA).

The purpose of this study is to compare serum cobalt and chromium levels obtained from one group of patients at a single reference laboratory to levels from a different group of patients measured at multiple community laboratories.

We compare serum metal levels performed prospectively at a single reference laboratory on 57 patients to levels performed retrospectively on 160 patients in community laboratories. All patients had unilateral metal-on-metal bearing hips.

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