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Thyroid Function Test (TFT) report format

Total T3, total T4 and TSH. Every field below is yours to edit once the library is in your catalogue.

Test code
TFT
Department
Endocrinology
Sample
Serum
Method
Chemiluminescence (CLIA)
Turnaround
6 h

Parameters and reference ranges

3 lines print on the report, each with its unit, decimal places and the range a result is flagged against.

Thyroid Function Test (TFT) parameters with their units, decimal places and reference ranges.
Triiodothyronine (T3), TotalT3Unitng/dLDecimals1
  • All patients80 – 200
Thyroxine (T4), TotalT4Unitµg/dLDecimals2
  • All patients5.1 – 14.1
TSH (Ultrasensitive)TSHUnitµIU/mLDecimals3
  • All patients0.27 – 4.2Critical < 0.01 or > 100
  • Up to 12 y0.6 – 4.8Critical < 0.01 or > 100

Reference ranges are shown as they ship. The engine picks the most specific range that matches the patient in front of you.

See a rendered sample report

Built from this format, with fictional patient data.

Collecting the sample

What this format assumes arrives in the lab. Check each line against your own kit insert before the front desk starts booking Thyroid Function Test (TFT).

Collected into
A plain tube or a serum separator tube. No anticoagulant, and no special light protection.
Volume
About 2 mL of blood yields enough serum for all three analytes, with room for a repeat.
Fasting
Not required. The sample can be drawn at any time of day.
Keeps for
Separated serum keeps for several days refrigerated and longer frozen. Confirm the window your kit insert gives before you set a limit in your own catalogue.
Not usable
Grossly haemolysed and badly lipaemic samples, which interfere with immunoassay readings. The format has a remarks line for recording a repeat request.

Included in these panels

Ordering one of these creates this format along with the rest of its member tests, on one order and one bill.

How this format gets into your lab

One click installs the shipped library into your own catalogue. From that moment the format is yours: rename a parameter, change a unit or a decimal place, rewrite a reference range, add an age band, or delete a line your lab does not report. Nothing here is locked, and nothing is fetched from us at print time.

Prices, sample types and methods sit on the same record, so the front desk can bill this test as soon as the library is installed.

What labs usually change here

  • Replacing all three intervals with the ones from the kit insert, which is the first thing to do and the one that matters most.
  • Adding age bands to T3 and T4. Only TSH ships with one, so a lab that reports for children usually adds them to the other two.
  • Adding a pregnancy band to TSH, by trimester, for labs that report antenatal work.
  • Changing the decimal places. TSH ships at three, which some labs reduce to two so the printed column reads more cleanly.
  • Adding free T3 and free T4 lines, for labs that report them alongside the totals rather than as the separate free thyroid format.

The library is copied into your own catalogue, so later changes to it never alter yours.

Questions labs ask about the TFT format

What does TFT stand for?

Thyroid Function Test. This format reports the three analytes a thyroid profile usually carries: total triiodothyronine (T3), total thyroxine (T4) and ultrasensitive TSH. It is sometimes booked as a thyroid profile or T3 T4 TSH, and the format is the same either way.

How is this different from the free thyroid profile format?

This one reports total T3 and total T4. The free thyroid profile reports the unbound fractions, FT3 and FT4, which is a separate format in the library with its own units and intervals. Labs that report both usually install both and let the front desk book whichever the referring doctor asked for.

Do the reference ranges ship age-specific?

TSH does: it ships with an adult interval and a band for patients up to twelve years, and the engine picks whichever matches the patient on the order. T3 and T4 ship with one adult interval each, so a lab reporting paediatric work adds those bands itself. Every interval is editable once the library is installed.

Does the patient need to be fasting?

No. The format assumes a serum sample drawn at any time of day, and the front desk does not need to hold the patient. If your lab prefers a morning draw for its own protocol, that is a note on the order rather than a constraint in the format.

Can I report free T3 and free T4 on this format instead of adding another?

Yes. The format is yours once installed, so you can add two lines with their own units, decimal places and intervals and report all five analytes on one report. Labs that keep the totals and the frees on separate reports install the free thyroid format alongside this one instead.

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