Joint Infection Testing at CD Laboratories
Joint pain can keep you from being able to perform daily tasks to enjoying time with your friends and family. Our goal is to help identify the cause of your pain as soon as possible to get you on the path to regaining your life. As part of that goal, your doctor may choose to utilize one of CD Laboratories’ laboratory test offerings to help them diagnosis your pain.
What is Infection Testing at CD Laboratories
At CD Laboratories, we offer multiple test options to help you doctor diagnosis your joint pain, whether you have had a previous joint replacement or not. Our tests include proprietary and standard of care tests such as:
For patients with a total joint replacement. Test Panel includes:
- Synovasure Alpha Defensin for PJI
- Synovasure Microbial Identification*
- Synovial Fluid C-reactive Protein (CRP)
- Culture
- White Blood Cell Count
Your doctor may also opt to include crystal analysis testing to determine if your pain may be caused by gout.
*Synovasure Microbial Identification testing is not available in New York State
For patients without a total joint replacement. Test Panel includes:
- Synovasure Alpha Defensin for NSA (alpha defensin and lactate)
- Synovasure Microbial Identification
- Culture
- White Blood Cell Count
- Crystal Analysis
*Synovasure NSA Comprehensive Panel testing is not available in New York State
For patients with a total joint replacement. Alpha defensin testing evaluates joint fluid for the presence of proteins associated with the body’s response while fighting a potential infecting organism.
24 hour test for identification of common infection causing organism
*Synovasure Microbial Identification testing is not available in New York State
Why Choose Synovasure Infection Testing?
From a single joint fluid sample, we provide you and your doctor with extensive laboratory testing results to help determine if your pain is cause by an infection, in 24 hours*. If a comprehensive panel is selected for testing, the results will also help identify what kind of infection is present to help your doctor determine a treatment specifically designed for you. To date, CD Laboratories has tested over 275,000 joint fluid samples, making our laboratory an expert in joint fluid testing.
* Culture testing is held for 7 days
How Does the Testing Work?
Your doctor will take a sample of fluid from your painful joint
Fluid is packaged and shipped overnight to CD Laboratories (located outside Baltimore, MD)
Testing is performed and results are sent to doctor within 24 hours of receipt at laboratory
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
While some of our tests that are part of the comprehensive test panels are available from other labs (White Blood cell count, Culture, etc), the Synovasure Alpha Defensin and Synovasure Microbial Identification laboratory tests are proprietary and only available from Zimmer Biomet (via CD Laboratories).
Effective April 2024, the price for Synovasure Infection Testing is:
- Synovasure Comprehensive PJI Panel* – $269.00 (if Crystal Analysis testing requested, add $30.00)
- Synovasure Comprehensive NSA Panel – $299.00
- Synovasure Alpha Defensin for PJI – $125.00
- Synovasure Microbial Identification – $155.00
*Note: Comprehensive Panel for patients in New York State is $194.00, due to Synovasure Microbial Identification testing being unavailable at this time.
For patients with traditional Medicare insurance, Zimmer Biomet/CD Laboratories will bill Medicare directly on behalf of the patient for Synovasure Infection Testing, as well as any secondary insurances that the patient may have.
For non-Medicare patients, Zimmer Biomet/CD Laboratories will bill the patient directly for testing. As a courtesy, a claim will also be submitted to the patient’s insurance for reimbursement. Any available reimbursement will be provided directly back to the patient from their insurance company.
Yes. We will bill Medicare and a patient’s secondary insurance directly on behalf of the patient for Synovasure Infection testing.
Payment for Synovasure Infection Testing can be made via:
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Credit Card
- Check
Follow the instructions on your bill to complete payment. If paying by Credit Card, payment can also be submitted via our secure PayPal account. Click Here for PayPal instructions.
Yes. Payment plans are available over three (3) equal monthly payments. For more information, please contact 855.731.4550.
Your signature is needed to allow us to submit a claim to your insurance company on your behalf. The signature also acknowledges your acceptance of financial responsibility for any necessary billing.
Yes, for most patients CD Laboratories is an out-of-network provider as it is located in Maryland. The Synovasure laboratory testing is only available through CD Laboratories as it is proprietary to our laboratory, so testing cannot be performed at any other laboratory including LabCorp or Quest Diagnostics. For more information regarding our status as out-of-network, click here.
To obtain a copy of your results, please contact your doctor’s office. They will have record of the results provided by CD Laboratories. If your doctor requires a new copy for their records, they should contact CD Laboratories Customer Service at 888-981-8378 (Monday through Friday from 8AM to 6PM EST)