Urine collection (first morning)

Article Translations: (Spanish)

The doctor ordered urine tests for your child before his or her first visit at the Pediatric Nephrology Clinic. These tests help rule out causes of some kidney illnesses including proteinuria, hypertension, and more. They can save time in the diagnosis of your child’s kidney illness and prevent further unnecessary testing, which can be costly.

Directions for urine collection:

1. If your child is toilet-trained and able to urinate into a cup, follow steps 2-6 below for urine collection. For new infant-toddler patients who are not yet toilet-trained, a urine specimen will be collected at the clinic.
2. Obtain a urine specimen cup from any local clinic and a urine “hat” if desired. The urine hat sits in the toilet to catch urine, and you can pour the urine into the specimen cup (may be helpful for female patients). Most clinics will provide a specimen cup. If it is not possible to get a specimen cup, you may use a clean plastic covered container. Be aware that this testing may not be as accurate, and the container will not be returned to you.
3. Label your container as “urine,” along with patient name, date of birth, date and time of collection.
4. Pick a night for specimen collection. Your child will need to empty his or bladder before lying down to sleep, not urinate during the night, and then collect the first urine from his or her first urination in the morning.
5. Keep the urine specimen cold (refrigerated or on ice while transporting) and bring it to the lab as soon as possible. This helps preserve the specimen for more accurate testing.
6. If the specimen is kept refrigerated/cold, you have up to 24 hours for the specimen to be dropped off and processed by the lab. Bring the specimen with you to the clinic and drop it off at the lab when you arrive.

Labeling the container

Fill in the information on the label provided. If you do not have a label, you can cut this out and attach it to the container.

Patient First Name:______________________________ Last Name:____________________________________ Date of Birth:_________________ URINE COLLECTION (FIRST MORNING)
DATE COLLECTED
TIME COLLECTED
PLEASE REFRIGERATE

Questions?

This sheet is not specific to your child but provides general information. If you have any questions please call the clinic.

Reviewed 11/2016

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