Biochemical Diagnostics

To help ensure the availability of diagnostic and monitoring tests for patients in Ontario with newborn screening targeted diseases, and leveraging NSO laboratory capabilities, we offer selected biochemical tests for diagnosis and monitoring purposes using a variety of sample types. These tests are available not only for screened infants, but for any patient with a known or suspected diagnosis. Please refer to our test inventory for a comprehensive list of the tests and specimen requirements.

Test inventory and requisition

Click here for our Biochemistry Laboratory Test Inventory, which includes specimen requirements, turnaround times and price list (Last updated 2024-07-02)

Click here for our requisition (Last updated 2025-01)

Specimen requirements

Please see our test inventory above for test-specific specimen requirements.

NSO does not perform urine creatinine in-house and requires a urine creatinine result be included with each urine specimen request.

For 24-hr urine specimens, NSO requires at least 5mL of the 24-hr urine collection. Please provide the total 24-hr urine volume with these requests.

Please ensure that all specimens are accompanied by a completed requisition or batch list if multiple samples are being shipped (i.e. shipment manifest, packing list).

Shipping

Please ship samples to the following address:

Newborn Screening Ontario
Room R323 R1 Building
415 Smyth Rd
Ottawa, Ontario
K1H 8M8

Please DO NOT ship samples to CHEO or EORLA Central Lab Receiving (CLR).

For CHEO patients

CHEO inpatient and outpatient specimens, which include requests for tests performed by NSO, will be routed through CHEO (EORLA) Central Lab Receiving and referred to NSO for testing. Once testing is complete, CHEO patient results will be transmitted back to CHEO and results will be accessible in Epic.

CHEO NSO Treatment Centre patient specimens collected offsite and referred to NSO for testing will continue to be routed through CHEO (EORLA) Central Lab Receiving and referred to NSO for testing. Once testing is complete, results will be transmitted back to CHEO and results will be accessible in Epic.

For laboratories that are part of the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association (EORLA)

If it is necessary to ship NSO and CHEO specimens in the same package, please segregate the specimens in different specimen bags within the shipment so they can be easily distinguished.

For laboratories that are not part of the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association (EORLA)

All specimens sent to NSO should be packaged in a separate box from any samples which need to go to another Ottawa laboratory. The receiving department where NSO specimens are accepted is open Monday-Friday 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. It is not open on weekends or statutory holidays.

Only specimens for tests performed in the NSO laboratory will be accepted. NSO is not able to forward specimens that require testing by a third-party laboratory.

Reporting and turnaround times

Reports for CHEO inpatient, outpatient and NSO treatment centre patients will be available in Epic.

Reports for specimens referred to NSO from laboratories external to CHEO will be issued to the referring lab by FAX. Please note that it is the responsibility of the referring lab to provide results to the requesting Health Care Provider.

NSO biochemistry diagnostic tests are not yet available in OLIS. Laboratories that refer specimens to NSO for testing will be notified when the option to view test results in OLIS becomes available.  We aim to report results as soon as possible and to have all reports issued within the routine times listed in our test inventory.

Please contact us at 613-738-3222 x3439 for a status update on a report or if analyzing or issuing a report sooner is needed; we will accommodate these requests to the best of our ability.

Billing

Invoices will be issued by NSO to the referring laboratory.

Contact us

For any inquiries, please contact the NSO Laboratory at 613-738-3222 x3439.