Catecholamines, Fractionated Urine 24 Hr. *

SIM

CPT

Synonyms

Specimen Type

Container

Brown plastic urine container with 30 ml 6N HCl preservative.

Collection Instructions

Instruct the patient to void at 8 A.M. and discard the specimen. Then collect all urine including the final specimen voided at the end of the 24 hour collection period (ie,8 A.M. the next morning). Container must be labeled with the patient name, date and time collection started and date and time collection finished. Refrigerate during the collection. Screw the lid on securely.

Volume

Volume: 30 ml.  aliquot 
Min. volume:  4 ml .aliquot 
These are the volumes sent to Lab Corp

Additional Information

Work up neuroblastoma; diagnose pheochromocytoma

Patient Preparation

Avoid patient stress. Caffeine should be avoided before and during the collection. The patient should not be subjected to hypoglycemia or exertion. Many drugs (reserpine and alpha methyldopa ,levodopa, monoamine oxidase inhibitors and sympathomimetic amines) may interfere and should be discontinued two weeks prior to specimen collection. Nose drops ,sinus and cough medicines ,bronchodilators and appetite suppressants may interfere. Mandelamine® interferes, but thiazides do not.

Specimen Processing Instructions

Keep on ice. Mix urine well. Measure and aliquot the 24 hour urine. Write the total 24-hour volume on the aliquot container. pH should be <5.

Transport Requirements

Refrigerate during and after collection

Specimen Stability

Rejection Criteria

Specimen collected with no preservative; specimen not refrigerated; pH >5

Reference Range

Reference range accompanies report.

CriticalValue

Test Includes

Methodology

Testing Frequency

LCA

Reviewed By

Reviewed Date

Supplemental

* Denotes Reference Lab Test