Detection of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide producing tumors in patients with chronic diarrheal diseases

Not all patients with the syndrome have increased VIP. Increased VIP can be found in healthy controls and in laxative abusers.

This test should not be requested on patients who have recently received radioactive material 24 hours prior to collection.

Lavender, from Trasylol® collection kit

1. Using a chilled 6-mL lavender-top (EDTA) tube taken from a Trasylol® kit, collect a whole blood specimen
2. Immediately following collection, mix the specimen several times by inverting the EDTA collection tube to prevent clotting

1. After removing the cap from the EDTA draw tube, take one of the sterile, Beral pipettes (from under the grey foam), and add 0.25 mL Trasylol® to the EDTA tube.
2. Recap the EDTA tube and invert several times to mix well.
3. Centrifuge the EDTA tube to separate the plasma from the cells, and immediately transfer the plasma into one of the brown screw-cap transfer tubes provided in the kit. There should be a "Trasylol® Added" label affixed to the brown transfer tubes.
4. Cap and freeze the labeled transfer tube containing the EDTA plasma with Trasylol® added.

Brown screw-cap transfer tube from a Trasylol^® collection kit

Frozen (strict) - 14 days

Refrigerated - NO

Ambient - NO

• Gross hemolysis
• Gross lipemia
• Specimens received at ambient or refrigerated temperatures
• Sample not collected with Trasylol
• Sample not submitted in tube with Trasylol label
• Recently administered radioisotopes
• Serum, sodium citrate, or heparinized plasma specimens are not acceptable

Radioimmunoassay (RIA)

0.0 – 58.8 pg/mL

Hypersecretion of VIP is observed in “pancreatic cholera syndrome,” Verner-Morrison syndrome or the watery diarrhea-hypokalemia-hypochlorhydria (WDHH) syndrome. It is characterized by hypermotility, watery diarrhea syndromes with hypokalemia and hypochlorhydria, dehydration and weakness; these symptoms can be reproduced by VIP.  VIP can be secreted by pancreatic or ectopic islet cell tumors, and in islet-cell hyperplasia.