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HelpTest ID: CK Creatine Kinase (CK), Serum
Reporting Name
Creatine Kinase (CK), SUseful For
Diagnosing and monitoring myopathies or other trauma, toxin, or drug-induced muscle injury
Specimen Type
SerumNecessary Information
Patient's age and sex are required.
Specimen Required
Collection Container/Tube:
Preferred: Serum gel
Acceptable: Red top
Submission Container/Tube: Plastic vial
Specimen Volume: 1 mL
Collection Instructions:
1. Serum gel tubes should be centrifuged within 2 hours of collection.
2. Red-top tubes should be centrifuged, and the serum aliquoted into a plastic vial within 2 hours of collection.
Specimen Minimum Volume
0.25 mL
Specimen Stability Information
| Specimen Type | Temperature | Time | Special Container |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serum | Refrigerated (preferred) | 7 days | |
| Frozen | 28 days | ||
| Ambient | 48 hours |
Reference Values
Males
≤3 months: not established
>3 months: 39-308 U/L
Females
≤3 months: not established
>3 months: 26-192 U/L
Reference values have not been established for patients that are less than 3 months of age.
Note: Strenuous exercise or intramuscular injections may cause transient elevation of creatine kinase (CK).
Day(s) Performed
Monday through Sunday
Test Classification
This test has been cleared, approved, or is exempt by the US Food and Drug Administration and is used per manufacturer's instructions. Performance characteristics were verified by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements.CPT Code Information
82550
LOINC Code Information
| Test ID | Test Order Name | Order LOINC Value |
|---|---|---|
| CK | Creatine Kinase (CK), S | 2157-6 |
| Result ID | Test Result Name | Result LOINC Value |
|---|---|---|
| CK | Creatine Kinase (CK), S | 2157-6 |
Clinical Information
Creatine kinase (CK) is an enzyme that catalyzes the reversible phosphorylation of creatine (Cr) by adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Physiologically, when muscle contracts, ATP is converted to adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and CK catalyzes the rephosphorylation of ADP to ATP using creatine phosphate as the phosphorylation reservoir. The CK enzyme is a dimer composed of subunits derived from either muscle (M) or brain (B). Three isoenzymes have been identified: striated muscle (MM), heart tissue (MB), and brain (BB). Normal serum CK is predominantly the CK-MM isoenzyme.
CK activity is greatest in striated muscle (MM isoenzyme ), heart tissue (MB isoenzyme ), and brain (BB isoenzyme ). Serum CK concentrations are reflective of muscle mass causing males to have higher concentrations than females. CK may be measured to evaluate myopathy and to monitor patients with rhabdomyolysis for acute kidney injury.
Interpretation
Serum creatine kinase (CK) activity may increase in patients with acute cerebrovascular disease or neurosurgical intervention and with cerebral ischemia as well as in nearly all patients when injury, inflammation, or necrosis of skeletal or heart muscle occurs, including:
-All types of muscular dystrophy particularly in progressive muscular dystrophy (particularly Duchenne sex-linked muscular dystrophy).
-Viral myositis, polymyositis, and similar muscle diseases
-Malignant hyperthermia, an inherited life-threatening condition characterized by high fever and brought on by administration of inhalation anesthesia
-Muscle trauma, which causes CK elevations within 12 hours of onset, peaking within 1 to 3 days, and declining 3 to 5 days after cessation of muscle injury
---Serum CK activities exceeding 200 times the upper reference limit may be found in acute rhabdomyolysis, putting the patient at great risk for developing acute renal failure.
-When given at pharmacologic doses, some drugs including statins, fibrates, antiretrovirals, and angiotensin II receptor antagonists
-Endocrine myopathy, for which hpothyroidism is a common cause, about 60% of hypothyroid subjects show an average elevation of CK activity 5-fold greater than the upper reference limit
-Normal childbirth causes a 6-fold elevation in maternal serum
For detection of myocardial infarction, changes in serum CK and its heart tissue (MB) isoenzyme have been largely replaced by the more cardiac-specific nonenzymatic markers, cardiac troponin I or T.
Clinical Reference
1. Tietz Clinical Guide to Laboratory Tests. Fourth edition. Edited by Wu AHB. St. Louis, Saunders Elsevier, 2006;306-307
2. Huerta-Alardin AL, Varon J, Marik PE: Bench-to-bedside review: Rhabdomyolysis -- an overview for clinicians. Crit Care 2005 Apr;9(2):158-169
3. Morandi L, Angelini C, Prelle A, et al: High plasma creatine kinase: review of the literature and proposal for a diagnostic algorithm. Neurol Sci 2006 Nov:27(5):303-311
Report Available
Same day/1 to 2 daysMethod Name
Photometric, Creatine Phosphate + ADP