Alkaline Phosphatase, Placental (Blood)

Testing Laboratory

Auckland Te Toka Tumai | Auckland Hospital

Department

Chemical Pathology

Delphic Registration Code (Alpha Code)

PLAP

Test Code (Numeric Code)

0333

Laboratory Handling

Laboratory

LabPLUS Special Techniques

Sample Stability

7 days ambient and 2-8°C, 2 months frozen

Synonyms

ALP, heat stable, placental ALP, Heat-stable ALP

Turnaround Time

1 day

Result available within 3 hours, but not outside 0800 -1700 weekdays. If the test is required out of hours, consult on call Chemical Pathologist.

Specimen Type

  • CSF
  • Plasma
  • Serum

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred
  • CSF sterile tubes (Routine Analysis)
  • Lithium Heparin PST- Gel (Light Green Cap)
Acceptable
  • Lithium Heparin - Non-gel (Green Cap)
  • Plain (Red Top)
  • SST II (Gold Cap)
Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

4

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred
  • Lithium Heparin PST- Gel (Light Green Cap)
Acceptable
  • Lithium Heparin - Non-gel (Green Cap)
  • Plain (Red Top)
  • SST II (Gold Cap)
Preferred Sample Volume (ml)

1

Minimum Sample Volume (ml)

0.5

Pre-testing Requirements

Total Alkaline Phosphatase should be ≥110 U/L for serum/plasma or >5 U/L for a CSF sample. If not, placental Alkaline Phosphatase will not be performed.

Last updated: 01/09/2026