The Urine Specimen

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The Urine Specimen
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Specimen Integrity

• Represent patient status
• Inappropriate specimen
• Appropriate specimen

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All Urine samples must include the following
information.

• Patient Name
• Chart or Medical Record
• Patient Identification
• Sample or Requisition
• Date and Time of Collection

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Collection of Urine Specimens

• Random
• First morning
• Postprandial
• Fasting

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Urine Specimens

• Clean catch midstream
• Timed
• Catheterized specimens
• Supra-pubic aspirate
• Chain-of-custody collections

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• U-bag

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• 24-hour Collections

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Urine Containers

• Two Types
• Clean
• Sterile

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What is this thing we call urine?

• 95 Water
• 3 Urea
• 2 Excess solutes (salts)

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Changes which occur in unpreserved urine

• Increase
• pH
• nitrite
• bacteria
• turbidity

• Decrease
• glucose
• ketones
• bilirubin
• urobilinogen

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Specimen Preservation

• Refrigeration
• Retards bacterial growth
• No interference with chemical tests
• Chemicals
• Most interfere with at least one or more urine
  chemical tests

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Physical Properties

• Color
• Clarity or appearance
• Specific Gravity

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Urine Color

• Urochromes give urine its characteristic color
• Some foods and medications give colors to urine
• Disease states may alter urine color
• Normal colors are straw, light yellow, yellow,
  dark yellow
• Color varies with urine concentration

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Abnormal Urine Colors

• Red RBCs, hemoglobin, foods
• Brown old blood

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• Amber bilirubin
• Bright orange medication (pyridium)

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• Green medications

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Appearance

• Report as clear, hazy, cloudy, or turbid
• Nonpathogenic causes for cloudy urine
• amorphous phosphates and urates
• crystals
• epithelial cells and mucous
• Pathogenic causes for cloudy urine
• RBCs and WBCs
• bacteria
• casts

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• Turbid Urine