Hospital visiting guidelines updated 20 July 2022: Hospital visitors must wear a surgical/medical paper mask. Fabric face coverings are no longer acceptable. See our COVID-19 pages for detailed information about hospital visiting guidelines, COVID-19 tests and care in the community advice. See www.vaccinatecanterburywestcoast.nz for information about vaccinations.
We are at ORANGE according to the NZ COVID-19 Protection Framework
Last updated:
9th April 2022
Kia whakahaumaru te whānau, me ngā iwi katoa – this is to keep everybody safe:
By sticking to the rules above, you help keep our patients, staff, other visitors and yourself safe. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as our staff work hard to protect and care for some of the most vulnerable in our community.
Exceptions to the ‘one visitor’ policy
Visiting patients with COVID-19
You must NOT visit the hospital if you
Exceptions for people with disabilities
An exception will be made for people with disabilities who are in hospital or have to attend an outpatient appointment – where they need a support person to access health services. For example, a sign language interpreter, support person for someone with a learning disability, or someone to assist with mobility. The support person is in addition to the one permitted visitor.
Everyone visiting our facilities must wear a mask, no exceptions
While we appreciate that some people have legitimate reasons for being exempt from wearing a mask and may even have an official card to confirm this, people who cannot or will not wear a mask cannot visit someone in hospital or attend hospital, other than to access healthcare. This is another measure to minimise the risk to vulnerable patients.
Patients and visitors should also read the additional more detailed visiting guidelines for each specific hospital.
More COVID-19 information
Immunology
NMDA
Anti-Glutamate Receptor ab.
3 weeks
NMDA assay will be performed on either serum or CSF, however CSF is the preferred sample. Serum may give an equivocal result if other autoantibodies are present in which case CSF would be required.
4.0mL Red Top, however CSF is preferred
Interpretive comments
Indirect immunofluorescence on transfected HEK cell line
Serum screened at 1 in 10 & 1 in 100
CSF screened neat.
$364.18 (Exclusive of GST)
8318
Antibodies (in both serum and CSF) can be low or subthreshold in first samples but rise subsequently. We recommend sending further samples with CSF if the diagnostic suspicion remains high.
NMDAR-antibodies are found in patients with behavioural and cognitive problems and seizures. These can commonly progress over time to a movement disorder autonomic fluctuations and coma.
Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) antibodies are neuronal surface-directed antibodies.
Since their discovery in 2007 (Dalmau J etal, Ann Neurol), anti-NMDAR antibodies have been shown to be a frequent cause of a severe but treatable form of immune-mediated encephalitis (Titulaer M et al, Lancet Neurol 2013). Anti-NMDAR encephalitis typically evolves from a viral prodrome to a neuropsychiatric presentation (Irani SR et al, Brain 2010). W
While the disease was originally associated with tumours, typically ovarian teratomas, many patients do not have tumours.
Also known as Anti-Glutamate Receptor antibodies