Collection Instructions for Urine

  1. While holding the labia apart or foreskin retracted, begin voiding.
  2. After several milliliters have passed, collect a midstream portion without stopping the flow of urine into a sterile container.
  3. Close the container tightly.
  4. If the specimen cannot be brought to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site within 1 hour, REFRIGERATE it for a maximum of 24 hours.

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Collection Instructions for 24 hour Urine

Since the information your doctor gets from these samples is only as accurate as your collection procedure, it is most important that you collect the urine in the following manner:

  1. You must begin all 24-hour urine collections with an empty bladder. Then when you awaken the morning of the day the collection is to begin, empty your bladder, discard the urine and note the time. (The urine you have discarded is really that made the night before.)
  2. Collect all urine throughout the day and night.
  3. The next morning awaken at the same time you did the day you began the collection, empty your bladder and add this to the urine you collected the day before. This completes the 24-hour urine collection.
  4. Return specimen to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site as soon as possible after collection.

KEEP REFRIGERATED AT ALL TIMES

IMPORTANT: Before you stop taking any medications you must check with your physician!

Preparation:

  • Oxalate - None
  • Metanephrines - No caffeine before or during collection. Monamine oxidase inhibitors (Marplan, Nardil, Parnate) should be discontinued at least one (1) week prior to beginning collection.
  • Catecholamines - Avoid caffeine, theophylline, aspirin, bananas, vanilla, chocolate and high doses of vitamin B12 72 hours prior to and during collection. Avoid Menthenamine mandelate, alpha methyldopa, apresoline, and levodopa 1 week prior to the drugs; and during collection. If a patient exercises vigorously prior to urine collection, an increase in the output of catecholamines as much as seven fold can result.
  • Creatinine - Avoid exercise and cephalosporins. Have patient drink water before the clearance is begun, and continue good hydration throughout the clearance. If possible, drugs should be stopped beforehand.
  • 17 Hydroxycorticosteriods - If possible all drugs should be withheld for 72 hours prior to and during collection.
  • 17 Ketosteriods - If possible all drugs should be withheld for 72 hours prior to and during collection.
  • 17 Ketogenic Steroids - If possible all drugs should be withheld for 72 hours prior to and during collection.
  • Vanillylmandelic Acid VMA - Patient should avoid salicylates, caffeine, phenothiazine and antihypertension agents. Also coffee, tea, chocolate, fruit (especially bananas and any vanilla containing substances for 72 hours prior to collection).

5-HIAA - Patient should avoid the following foods:

  • Bananas
  • Avocados
  • Plums
  • Eggplant
  • Tomatoes
  • Plantain
  • Pineapples
  • Walnuts

Patient should avoid the following drugs:

  • Taking cough syrup containing guaifenesin
  • Tylenol
  • Empirin
  • Acetanilid
  • Glyceryl Guaiacolate
  • Mephenesin
  • Methocarbamol
  • Reserpine
  • Chlorpromazine
  • Promazine
  • Imipramine
  • Isoniazid
  • MAO Inhibitors
  • Methenamine
  • Methyldopa
  • henothiazines

Any compound containing these drugs, for a 72-hour period prior to and during collection.

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Collection Instructions for Semen Examination

  1. The doctor's office will provide a sterile container.
  2. Collection should follow 2-7 days of sexual abstinence.
  3. Condoms cannot be used because of sperm-killing properties of the latex. The entire specimen must be provided for testing.
  4. After collection, keep the specimen warm (keep next to body) until it is taken to the main Weland Laboratory at 1911 First Ave SE.
  5. Specimen must be brought to the laboratory as soon as possible, but no longer than one hour after collection. Collection of specimens may be done at the 1911 First Ave Weland Laboratory location. Specimens older than one hour will be rejected.
  6. Label the container with the patient's name and time of collection. It will be necessary to fill out a form when the specimen is delivered to the lab.

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Collection Instructions for Pinworm Exam

  1. Specimens are best obtained a few hours after the person has retired, between the hours of 9:00pm and midnight, or in the morning immediately upon rising before bathing or bowel movement.
  2. Collection of three to six consecutive daily specimens is recommended.
  3. Specimens should be obtained before therapy has begun.

Specimen Collection:

  1. Hold the paddle by the cap and remove it from the tube.
  2. Separate the buttocks and press the tacky surface against several areas of the perianal region.
  3. Replace the paddle in the tube for transport to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site. Specimens should be refrigerated if examination is to be delayed for more than one day.

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Collection Instructions for Stool Culture

Specimen Collection - Enteric Transport Container (Green Cap / Red Fluid):

  1. The patient must not be taking any form of medication unless specifically permitted by the physician. The use of barium and bismuth with certain radiological examinations is particularly damaging to the specimen. Collection should be at least one week after usage.
  2. Samples from multiple stool specimens are recommended to assure optimum recovery of enteric pathogens. Three consecutive specimens should be obtained during the acute stage. To identify chronic, subclinical, and carrier states, collection of stool specimens on three consecutive days is recommended.
  3. The bowel movement should be passed into a clean, dry, wide-mouthed container. Urine or water must not contaminate the stool.
  4. Select watery, bloody, or mucoid portions of the stool using the attached collection spoon. To insure adequate sampling of formed stool, sample portions of the side, middle, and end of the bolus. Fill two enteric transport vials. Place enough specimen into the vial to raise the level of the medium to the FILL line on the vial.
  5. Mash and mix the stool against the side of the vial with the spoon. Tighten the cap and shake the vial until the mixture appears homogeneous.
  6. Two enteric transport vials are needed for the stool culture. Label the vials with pertinent patient information. Include the time and date of collection. Label one green top with "EHEC" refrigerate and label the second green top with "Stool Culture" and keep at room temperature. Transport the specimens to the laboratory.
  7. Return Specimens to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site within 48 hours of collection.

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Collection Instructions for Stool For OVA & Parasite (O&P)

Specimen Collection - SAF vial (Yellow Cap / Clear Fluid)

  1. The patient should be cautioned against the use of antacids, barium, bismuth, antidiarrheal medication, or oily laxatives prior to collection of the specimen. Specimens should be delayed five to ten days after barium and at least two weeks after antibiotics are administered.
  2. To assure recovery of parasitic elements, which are passed intermittently and in fluctuating numbers, three specimens spaced a few days apart must be examined
  3. The specimen is ideally passed into a bedpan, or a clean and dry container without being contaminated with urine. Alternatively, a large plastic bag or "saran wrap" may be placed over the toilet seat opening and the specimen passed into the bag.
  4. An appropriate (i.e. bloody, mucoid, watery) area of stool should be selected and sampled with the collection spoons provided in the caps of the containers. Sufficient stool is added to each container to bring the liquid level up to the "Fill to Here" line. This will result in approximately 5 ml of sample. To insure adequate sampling of a formed stool, material should be removed from the sides, ends, and middle of the bolus.
  5. Agitate each specimen with the spoon along the sides of the container, tighten the cap and shake firmly to insure that the specimen is adequately mixed. When mixing is completed the specimen should appear homogenous.
  6. Label the vial with pertinent patient information. Include the time and date of collection.
  7. Return specimen to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site within 48 hours of collection.

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Collection Instructions for WBC and/or Reducing Substances

To collect a stool sample, place plastic wrap over the toilet (for infants line the diaper with plastic wrap). Do NOT contaminate the stool sample with water or urine. After collecting the stool sample into the plastic wrap, place sample in sterile container (Orange Cap) as follows:

  1. If the stool is formed: Add a walnut size piece of stool to the bottle.
  2. If the stool is liquid: Add enough stool to the bottle to cover the bottom of the bottle with a ¼ inch of stool.

Tighten the cap on the bottle and leave at room temperature. Write the patient's name and the date and time the stool was collected on the bottle label. Return to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site within 1 HOUR of collection.

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Collection Instructions for Stool For Rotavirus

Stool for Rotavirus - Collect stool specimen into a clean, dry container.

  1. Collect approximately one ml of liquid stool or approximately a pea sized portion of formed stool.
  2. Tighten the cap on the container and REFRIGERATE. Write the patient's name, date and time the stool was collected on the label. Return to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site within 72 HOURS of collection.

Tighten the cap on the container and REFRIGERATE. Write the patient's name, date and time the stool was collected on the label. Return to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site within 48 HOURS of collection.

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Collection Instructions for Stool for Clostridium

Stool for Clostridium difficile - Collect stool specimen into a clean, container with no preservative.

  1. Collect approximately one ml of liquid stool or approximately a pea sized portion of formed stool.
  2. Tighten the cap on the container and REFRIGERATE. Write the patient's name, date and time the stool was collected on the label. Return to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site within 4 DAYS of collection.

Tighten the cap on the container and REFRIGERATE. Write the patient's name, date and time the stool was collected on the label. Return to a Weland Clinical Laboratories site within 2 DAYS of collection.

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