CLIA

Abbreviation with 2 meanings

CLIA
Stands forClinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments
Meanings2
CategoriesMedical

CLIA has two meanings. It stands for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (laboratory test) or Chemiluminescent immunoassay (laboratory test).

Meanings of CLIA at a glance

#CLIA stands forContext
1Clinical Laboratory Improvement AmendmentsMedical › Laboratory Test
2Chemiluminescent immunoassayMedical › Laboratory Test

1. Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments

Medical · Laboratory Test Abbreviations

US federal law of 1988 setting quality standards for every laboratory that tests human specimens for diagnosis, prevention or treatment, from hospital labs to physician offices. CMS administers certification with the FDA, which categorizes tests as waived, moderate or high complexity, and the CDC.

Example: The urgent care clinic holds a CLIA certificate of waiver for its rapid strep and glucose tests.

Often written CLIA '88. Waived tests are simple enough to have low risk of error, but other labs face proficiency testing and inspections. Theranos lost the CLIA certification of its California laboratory after CMS sanctions in 2016. In laboratory method descriptions CLIA can also mean chemiluminescent immunoassay.

2. Chemiluminescent immunoassay

Medical · Laboratory Test Abbreviations

Automated immunoassay method in which a light-emitting reaction, rather than a color change, signals how much antibody, antigen or hormone is in a sample. It is used on high-throughput analyzers for thyroid hormones, cardiac troponin, vitamin D, infectious disease serology and tumor markers.

Example: Anti-TPO measured by CLIA on the hospital's main immunoassay platform.

Also written CLA or ChLIA in some papers to avoid confusion with the US laboratory law. Chemiluminescent methods offer wide measuring ranges and fast turnaround compared with traditional ELISA. Because antibodies and calibrators differ between manufacturers, results for the same patient can vary between platforms.

More laboratory test abbreviations

  • CBC – Complete blood count
  • CBC w/ diff – Complete blood count with differential
  • Chem 7 – Seven-test chemistry panel
  • CK – Creatine kinase
  • CK-MB – Creatine kinase-MB isoenzyme
  • Cl – Chloride
  • CMP – Comprehensive metabolic panel
  • CO2 – Total carbon dioxide (serum bicarbonate)
  • CPK – Creatine phosphokinase
  • Cr – Creatinine
  • CrCl – Creatinine clearance
  • CRP – C-reactive protein

See all 135 laboratory test abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.