Preparation Instructions for Urinary Metanephrines and Catecholamines

Read carefully and follow these recommendations in preparation for the exam​: 

• It does not require fasting.
• Do not consume the following foods eight days before the collection of the sample: coffee, tea, chocolate, banana, coke, vanilla, liquor, citrus.
• Suspend, under medical supervision, 8 days before the test: clonidine and alpha-methyldopa. The rest of the antihypertensive drugs can ONLY be discontinued under medical authorization (metoprolol, propranolol, labetalol, nifedipine, verapamil, hydrochlorothiazide, minoxidil, prazosin).
• Avoid strong exercise before and during collection.
• Use a clean and large container of 2 or 2.5 liters. Do not wash the container with bleach, clear or strong soaps.
• Rinse it well before using it.
• Urinate in the morning when getting up, throw out this sample and write down exactly the time (this sample is not collected).
• Collect all urine from all subsequent urinations during the next 24 hours (morning, afternoon and evening).
• Keep the container in a refrigerator while collecting urine (do not freeze).
• On the second day, at approximately the same time as the urine from the previous day was discarded, the last sample is collected.
• As soon as the collection is finished, take the sample to the laboratory in person.
• It is important to be careful when emptying the urine into the bottle so that nothing is lost in it. If you forget to collect some or all of a sample, you must start the study again.
• Mark the sample with full names and surnames, identification document, telephone number, age, high, and weight.
• For an adequate interpretation of its result, the urine must have been collected and preserved strictly following the instructions.
• If necessary, and due to impediments in your workplace, the sample can begin to be stored on the morning of the holiday (Sunday or Monday), to finish collecting the urine the next business day at the first hour and take it to the laboratory.

Remember: By taking these recommendations into account, you will contribute to a correct diagnosis.