The Collection of a non-acidified 24 hour urine sample

Please follow these instructions carefully. Failure to do so will make it difficult for your doctor to interpret the results and you may have to do it again.

Why do I have to collect this sample?

Your doctor has requested the measurement of various substances in your urine. Because the rate of excretion of these substances into urine varies during the day, the best way to assess your excretion is to use all your urine from 24 hours.

What do I need to collect my sample?

• A bottle. You will be given a five litre plastic bottle to collect your sample. The bottle should be large enough to hold all the urine you pass in 24 hours. However, if you expect to produce more than five litres of urine, please ask for a second container. Only samples collected into containers provided by the laboratory will be accepted. If you have been asked to collect more than one 24 hour urine sample, they must go into separate bottles.

• A jug. It may help if you find a clean, dry, non-metallic funnel or jug that you can use to collect your urine and transfer it into the bottle.

When should I collect my sample?

Choose a day when you are certain you will be able to collect all your urine; this will probably be a day when you are not likely to be going out for a long time.

The collection must be completed 24 hours after it starts, so start the collection at a time that best reflects the time you wish to finish your collection. You should also be able to deliver your sample to the Pathology Department or your GP surgery within one day of finishing your collection.

Female patients should avoid collecting samples while menstruating (during their period).

If your sample is to test for 5HIAA there are some things you must stop eating (see below).

• For at least 48 hours before you start and while you are collecting your sample avoid: herbal remedies containing hydroxytryptophan (also called 5HTP or Griffonia).

• For at least 24 hours before you start and while you are collecting your sample avoid: avocados, plums and prunes, nuts, bananas and plantain, pineapple and pineapple juice, kiwi fruit, and all tomato products.

How do I collect my sample?

1. Write your full first name, surname, and date of birth on the bottle label.

2. To start the collection: empty your bladder completely into the toilet. This is your start time; write it on the bottle.

3. From now on every time you go to the toilet, including during the night, collect all your urine into the bottle. A clean funnel or jug may make this easier. Please avoid faecal contamination of the urine by emptying your bladder into the bottle before having a bowel movement. If possible, please keep your sample in a cool place, out of the sun and away from radiators.

4. The next day, at the same time as you started your collection on the previous day (and whether or not you feel you need to) completely empty your bladder into the bottle. The time you finish should not vary by more than five or 10 minutes from the time you started on the previous day. Write the finish date and time on the bottle.

If you accidentally pass any urine into the toilet instead of the bottle, or if the bottle was not big enough, you must start again. You will need a new bottle or bottles, so you can repeat the collection. New bottles are available from the Pathology Department or by arrangement with your GP surgery.

What do I do with the sample when I have finished?

Make sure that the lid is done up tightly. As soon as you can, ideally within a day, bring the sample and the test request form to the Pathology Department at your nearest main East Kent Hospital (William Harvey Hospital, Ashford; Kent and Canterbury Hospital, or Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, Margate) between 8:30 am and 7:30 pm, Monday to Friday.

Ask at your GP surgery as it may be possible to drop your sample off there.

Information and test results

If you have any further queries about why this test is being done, please speak to the doctor who requested the test. The results of your test will be sent back to the doctor who requested the test as soon as the analysis is complete. Depending on the tests being done this could be anything from several days to a few weeks.

If you have questions about your sample collection, please phone the Duty Biochemist on 01233 616287. Laboratory staff cannot discuss your results.

Last time I collected a sample for 5HIAA there was acid in the bottle

Research done by our laboratories in East Kent Hospitals showed that samples without acid are better for measurement of 5HIAA.