Test Code CATEFU Free Catecholamines Fractionated, 24-hour Urine

Important Note

Drugs and medications may affect results and should be discontinued for at least 72 hours prior to specimen collection, if possible.

Additional Codes

80407

Methodology

Quantitative High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

CPT

82384

Specimen Type

Urine

Preferred Collection Container

24 hour urine container

Collection Volume

24 hour volume or 4.0 mL random urine

Minimum Collection Volume

24 hour volume or 2.5 mL random urine

Collection Instructions

Instruct the patient to void at 8:00 AM and discard the specimen. Then collect all urine including the final specimen voided at the end of the 24-hour collection period, i.e., 8:00 AM the next morning. Screw the lid on securely. Specimens should be transported promptly to the Clinical Laboratory. Container must be labelled with patient's full name, room number, date and time collection started, and date end time collection finished.

Transport

Catecholamines are not stable above pH7 and pH less than 2 can cause assay interference. Adjust ph to between 2-4 with 6M HCl. Refrigerated.

Rejection Criteria

Specimens preserved with boric acid or acetic acid. Specimens with pH greater than 7.

Specimen Storage and Stability

Unpreserved: Ambient: Unacceptable; Refrigerated: 1 week; Frozen: Undefined
Preserved: Ambient: Unacceptable; Refrigerated: 1 month; Frozen: 6 months

Turn Around Time

2-6 days

Lab Department

Referred Testing

EPIC Code

LAB373

Acceptable Collection Container

Urine cup for random specimen

Testing Volume

2.5 mL

Patient Preparation