Immunoglobulin Test Price in Pakistan: Rs 910 at Marham Lab

An immunoglobulin test measures the antibodies in your blood that fight infection. MedlinePlus explains that quantitative nephelometry is a lab test to quickly and accurately measure levels of certain proteins called immunoglobulins in the blood, and that immunoglobulins are antibodies that help fight infection. It measures IgM, IgG and IgA. At Marham Lab each immunoglobulin costs Rs 910.

Most people arrive here for one reason: a child, or an adult, who keeps getting infections. Chest infection after chest infection, courses of antibiotics that work and then stop working, a year that feels like one long illness.

This test asks whether the immune system has enough of the antibodies it needs. It is a measure of how much antibody you have, not whether you are immune to any one disease.

The three are usually ordered together, since each one low or high means something different. Ask your doctor which they want before booking all three.

MedlinePlus gives these.

• IgG: 700 to 1600 mg/dL, or 7.0 to 16.0 g/L
• IgM: 40 to 230 mg/dL, or 0.40 to 2.3 g/L
• IgA: 103 to 501 mg/dL, or 1.0 to 5.0 g/L

It notes these are common measurements, that normal value ranges may vary slightly among different labs, that some labs use different measurements or test different samples, and that you should talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific results. Children have different ranges from adults, which is why a paediatrician reads a child's report rather than a parent comparing it with an adult range online.

Low is the result that explains recurrent infection, and MedlinePlus is specific about causes.

Low IgG may be due to agammaglobulinaemia, which it describes as very low levels of immunoglobulins and a very rare disorder, leukaemia, multiple myeloma, preeclampsia, or treatment with certain chemotherapy medicines.

Low IgM may be due to agammaglobulinaemia, which it again notes is very rare, leukaemia, or multiple myeloma.

Low IgA may be due to agammaglobulinaemia, hereditary IgA deficiency, multiple myeloma, or gut disease that leads to protein loss.

Hereditary IgA deficiency is the one to know. It is the most ordinary finding on this list, it runs in families, and many people who have it are reasonably well with some extra chest and gut infections. A low IgA is a conversation with a doctor rather than an emergency.

High IgG may be due to chronic infection or inflammation, hyperimmunisation meaning a higher than normal number of specific antibodies, IgG multiple myeloma which MedlinePlus describes as a type of bone marrow cancer, liver disease, or rheumatoid arthritis.

High IgM may be due to mononucleosis, lymphoma meaning cancer of the lymph tissue, Waldenström macroglobulinaemia meaning cancer of the white blood cells, multiple myeloma, rheumatoid arthritis, or infection.

High IgA may be due to chronic infections especially of the gastrointestinal tract, inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis, or multiple myeloma.

Two patterns worth noticing. A raised IgG with joint pain sits alongside [RA factor](/labs/tests/ra-factor-test-price) and [anti-CCP](/labs/tests/anti-ccp-test-price) in a rheumatoid workup. A raised IgA with months of diarrhoea sits alongside [stool calprotectin](/labs/tests/calprotectin-test-price) in an inflammatory bowel workup.

Multiple myeloma appears in six of those categories, and reading this page cold is alarming. Keep the base rates in mind: chronic infection, inflammation, liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis and inherited IgA deficiency are ordinary and common, while myeloma and the lymphomas are not.

MedlinePlus settles it in one sentence: other tests are needed to confirm or diagnose any of the conditions above. An immunoglobulin result is a direction, not a diagnosis. Take it to a doctor before you take it to the internet.

MedlinePlus states you may be asked not to eat or drink anything for 4 hours before the test. Confirm with your lab or doctor, since not everyone requires it.

A blood sample is taken from a vein in your arm. MedlinePlus notes that when the needle is inserted some people feel moderate pain and others only a prick or stinging, and that afterwards there may be some throbbing or slight bruising which soon goes away. In Lahore the sample can be collected at your home at no extra cost.

Tell your doctor if you are on chemotherapy or steroids, since MedlinePlus lists certain chemotherapy medicines among the causes of a low IgG.