NHA Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT)Specimen HandlingHard
A phlebotomy technician observes that a urine specimen collected for a routine urinalysis has been sitting at room temperature for over 3 hours. Which of the following actions should the technician take?
- ADiscard the specimen and request a recollection.
- BProcess the specimen immediately, noting the delay.
- CRefrigerate the specimen and process within 24 hours.
- DAdd a chemical preservative to stabilize the specimen.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Discard the specimen and request a recollection.
Urine specimens for routine urinalysis should be processed within 1 hour or refrigerated within 1 hour and processed within 24 hours. After 3 hours at room temperature, bacterial growth, pH changes, and cellular degradation will significantly alter the results, necessitating a recollection.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Processing a specimen after 3 hours at room temperature will yield inaccurate results due to degradation and bacterial overgrowth.
- C. Refrigeration after 3 hours at room temperature will not reverse the degradation that has already occurred; the specimen is already compromised.
- D. Adding a chemical preservative at this point will not reverse the degradation that has already occurred and may interfere with test results.
Urine Specimen Stability (Routine UA)
For routine urinalysis, urine specimens are highly unstable at room temperature. Prompt processing or refrigeration is essential to prevent degradation of cellular elements, changes in pH, and bacterial overgrowth, which can lead to inaccurate results.
- Process within 1 hour of collection.
- If delayed, refrigerate within 1 hour for up to 24 hours.
- Prolonged room temperature leads to bacterial growth, pH change, cell lysis.
- Recollection is often necessary for compromised specimens.
Memory trick: Urine's a clock, after an hour, its integrity starts to crack.