A common method for evaluating suspected antibody deficiency is to immunize the patient with an appropriately selected vaccine, such as Pneumococcal, and determine vaccine-specific antibody concentrations in a serum sample 4-8 weeks post-immunization compared to a pre-immunization sample.
Immediately following collection, mix sample by gently inverting 5 times
Gold serum separator (SST) tube
Ambient (preferred) - 1 week
Refrigerated - 1 week
Frozen - 5 months
Fluoroimmunoassay (FIA)
> 1.3 µg/mL