Geisinger Medical Laboratories Test Catalog
CATECHOLAMINES, FRACTIONATED, RANDOM URINE |
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ORDERING INFORMATION: |
Geisinger Epic Procedure Code: LAB1956 Geisinger Epic ID: 45920 | |
SPECIMEN COLLECTION |
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Specimen type: |
Random urine | |
Preferred collection container: |
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Specimen required: |
5 mL urine (preserved per specimen processing instructions below) | |
Special notes: |
This test needs immediate acidification and can only be collected at Hospital sites. | |
Patient preparation: |
It is preferable for the patient to be off medications for 3 days before specimen collection. However, common antihypertensives (diuretics, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, alpha and beta blockers) cause minimal or no interference. Patient should avoid alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco, and strenuous exercise before collection. | |
SPECIMEN PROCESSING |
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Specimen processing instructions: |
Lab personnel (to be determined per site) will test the pH of the urines and adjust to less than 3.0 using 6N HCl before Referred Testing ships the specimen. Urine without preservative is acceptable if pH is below 6 and the sample is shipped frozen. | |
Transport temperature: |
Refrigerated. | |
Specimen stability: |
Refrigerated: 7 days. Frozen: 28 days. | |
TEST DETAILS |
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Additional information: |
Recent surgery, traumatic injury, upright posture, cold, anxiety, pain, clonidine withdrawal, and concurrent acute or chronic illness may produce elevated results. | |
CPT code(s): |
82384, 82570 | |
Note: The billing party has sole responsibility for CPT coding. Any questions regarding coding should be directed to the payer being billed. The CPT codes provided by GML are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. | ||
Test includes: |
Creatinine, Norepinephrine, Epinephrine, Dopamine, and Total Catecholamines (calculated) | |
Methodology: |
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) |
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Synonyms: |
Quest test code 5244 CATRU
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Clinical significance: |
The three catecholamines (norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine) are the principal secretory products of neural tissue. Clinically, the measurement of circulating catecholamines is valuable in the diagnosis of catecholamine secreting tumors associated chiefly with hypertension (pheochromocytomas, neuroblastomas, and gangliomas) and with the evaluation of orthostatic hypotension. |