Vitamin D Exam
John's physician has told him to increase his dietary intake of vitamin D from "naturally occurring sources." What should John put on his grocery shopping list to achieve this?
Fish liver oil, fatty types of fish, as well as egg yolks are all naturally occurring sources of vitamin D. John should make sure to pick up these items at the store in order to increase his vitamin D intake.
The major role of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, which forms and maintains strong bones.
The answer is TRUE: vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and its major role is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. It also helps the body absorb calcium, which is imperative in bone function.
Sarah is a 75-year-old retired school teacher originally from Minnesota. She now lives in Florida and frequents the beach four days a week. Which form of vitamin D would she most likely test the highest for?
Vitamin D3 Cholecalciferol
Rickets affects which population?
affects the development of bones only in children due to a mineralization defect during bone formation. It is most commonly diagnosed in children between the age of three and 18 months of age.
What are the potential interferences in a patient sample that, if present, may cause erroneous results in immunoassays for vitamin D?
rheumatoid factor, endogenous alkaline phosphatase, fibrin, and proteins capable of binding to alkaline phosphatase.
A physician calls the laboratory to add on a vitamin D test to a sample drawn two days ago. The laboratory assistant pulls the sample from the refrigerator, generates a test order and label, and delivers the sample to the Chemistry department. The technologist performing the test is using a spectrophotometer-type instrument and notices the sample is grossly hemolyzed. Should the technologist continue to run the test?
Grossly hemolyzed samples may cause falsely elevated results in those assays that use spectrophotometric methods for analysis. It is recommended that grossly hemolyzed samples be avoided. Refrigeration of the sample does not interfere with vitamin D testing so this would not be a factor.
Graded Question June is a 63-year-old female that takes a multivitamin daily that contains 400 IU of vitamin D and takes in another 50 IU from her diet. June feels she is getting enough vitamin D. Her family is concerned that she is not getting the recommended daily allowance of vitamin D from the supplement and her diet, so they are encouraging June to eat food that is higher in vitamin D to increase her daily intake. Do you agree with June or her family?
June's family is correct. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the form of recommended dietary allowance(RDA) states that 600 IU per day is the RDA for a person age 19 -70. June is not taking in enough from the supplement alone and will need to increase her intake through her diet.
