Missed Part of a 24-Hour Urine Collection?Tell the Lab

If you miss or accidentally discard urine during a requested 24-hour collection, tell your laboratory or requesting team what happened. Gloucestershire Hospitals explains that an incomplete collection can give misleading results affecting treatment. Its instructions require another day’s collection with a fresh container after a missed or discarded sample.¹

Explain the omission

Try: “I was collecting this requested 24-hour sample, but I missed some urine. What should I do with this collection, and how should we arrange the next one?”

Have the requested test, container information and collection start time available. Explain when the omission happened and what was missed.

Ask for your service’s arrangements

Try: “Do I need a new container and another collection day? Which instructions should I follow for my exact request?”

Follow your own team’s directions. Ask about unclear instructions before trying to estimate the missing amount or extending the collection period yourself.

Keep the answer with the original request and the laboratory’s contact details.

Laugh, Sneeze, Jump includes an appointment prep sheet. Use it to organize the collection questions you want clarified by your team. See the book.