Mail-in Fecal Analyses

[LCDR]

To reduce driving to the vet clinic to drop off fecal samples I started using mail in services. For me the mail in tests are a bit more expensive than what the vet clinic charges, but the savings in gasoline use and my time offset that difference and more.

But having used three services so far, I wonder about quality. As far as I know, the vet office may even use out-of-house labs too. One service from a major online equestrian shop has a very small sample and no cooling and a paper mailing envelope. Another uses a supplied ice pack and an insulated foil mailer and asks for a sample about 10x the volume.

What is your experience with mail-in services? Are some clearly better than the orhers?

[jlm0305]

Yes, some are definitely better than others and that includes diagnostic laboratories. Samples should be collected fresh and stored/shipped cooled. The larvae can develop and hatch pretty quickly, especially when it’s warm out. Results will also depend on which method is used, how well analysts are trained, etc.

When I was doing my PhD we’d do things like ship the exact same sample to different labs and get wildly different results. Like 0 epg ascarids for samples we knew were positive or 0 epg strongyles at one lab versus 1300 epg at another.