Centraal Diagnostisch Laboratorium

Your physician has ordered a laboratory test for which you must collect your urine during 24 hours. Carefully read the instructions below before starting the urine collection.

Preparation: what do you need?

Make sure you have the following items before starting with the 24-hour urine collection:

• This instruction ‘24-hour urine collection’.
• Urine collection container. This is a brown, square container with a yellow cap.
• (A transparent tube with a brown cap. Only if necessary you will receive this together with the brown urine container).

Important information in advance

Menstruation and stool during urine collection

Do not collect urine when you are menstruating. Also make sure the urine is not contaminated with feces. Urine mixed with (traces of) blood or feces cannot be used for the laboratory tests.

Diet

Depending on the purpose of the laboratory test you may not be allowed to eat and/or drink before and/or during the urine collection. If applicable, your physician has explained what you cannot eat or drink (sometimes with another information brochure).

Forgot to collect a portion of urine

If you forgot to collect a portion of urine during the 24 hours, then the collection has failed. You have to discard the already collected urine from the container, rinse the container with water (no soap) and then start over the next morning.

Do you have to collect urine for two days (2 times 24-hour urine)?

Continue directly with the urine collection in the second container, follow steps 2 to 6 again. Fill out the date, start time (this is the same as the end time of the day 1 collection), end time on day 2 and the volume of urine you collected on day 2 under ‘Second collection’ on the laboratory form. Write clearly on each container which urine is collected on day 1 and which on day 2.

Collected more than 3 liters of urine?

If your physician expects you to urinate more than 3 liter in 24 hours, you will receive 2 collection containers. You hand in both containers at the Poli Bloedafname (Blood Collection Department) when the collection is finished.

When do you bring the collected urine to the hospital?

Bring the urine container(s) or sample tube(s) to the Poli Bloedafname (Blood Collection Department) at location AMC or VUmc on the same morning that you finished the collection. Please see the location and opening hours at the bottom of the laboratory form.

Is this not possible? Keep the urine in your fridge (4 degrees) for a maximum of two days. Always discuss this with the Poli Bloedafname in advance (for example when you pick up the collection bottles), because this is not possible for all laboratory tests.

Instructions for 24-hours urine collection

Illustrations by: Rosalie C. Martens

The next steps are only necessary in case you received a transparent tube with a brown cap

Instructions for taking a urine sample from the container with a tube

If you received a tube with a brown cap, follow the instructions below to take a sample from the container.

1. Check if the container is closed well with the yellow cap to prevent spills.
2. Mix the urine in the container by slowly inverting the container 4 to 5 times.
3. Remove the sticker from the yellow cap. Be careful for your fingers, there is a needle in the cap of the container.
4. Turn the container upside down.
5. Push the brown cap of the tube into the opening of the yellow cap. The urine starts to flow into the tube. Hold in position, until the flow stops, then remove the tube.
   1. If you collected 2 x 24-hour urine (in two separate containers) then you follow the steps above to take two separate urine samples from each bottle (so you will have 2 tubes). Note on the tubes from which container the urine was filled (which day).
   2. If you needed 2 containers for the collection in 24 hours, you do not need to fill the tube, but return both containers.
6. Write your name, date of birth and the amount of urine in the bottle (the same amount you wrote on the laboratory form) on the sticker of the filled tube. You can discard the container.

Laboratory form 24-hour urine collection

If you have received a paper lab form, you may also record the following information on that form.

Where to bring the collected urine and this form?

Please bring the collected urine (one or more bottle(s) and/or sample tube(s)), together with this completed laboratory form, to:

• Location AMC, Poli Bloedafname (Blood Collection Department)
  Building Q, ground floor, route 41.
  Open on working days between 08.00 am and 16.30 pm.
  Telephone: 020 - 566 58 77 or 020 - 566 23 84
• Location VUmc, Poli Bloedafname (Blood Collection Department)
  Reception P, outpatient clinic building, first floor.
  Open on working days between 07.30 am and 17.00 pm.
  Telephone: 020 - 444 54 16