The patient should avoid salicylates, caffeine, phenothiazine, and antihypertension agents.  Also coffee, tea, chocolate, fruit (especially bananas and any vanilla-containing substances) for 72 hours prior to collection.

24 hour urine collection, no preservative. Alternately, a pour-off sample from a 24 hour urine collection is acceptable but the client must measure the 24 hour urine volume and indicate the volume on the requisition.

24-Hour Urine Collections:
1. To begin collection, empty the bladder and discard this urine. Record this time and date as the start of the collection.
2. 24-Hour urine collections should be started Sunday through Thursday.
3. Collect all urine excreted during the next 24 hours in the urine collection container.
4. Exactly 24 hours after the collection was begun, empty the bladder for the last time. Add this urine to the 24 hour urine container. The collection is finished.
5. The container should be refrigerated during and after the 24 hour collection period until it can be brought to Saint Luke’s Regional Laboratories.

Enter the volume in prompt.

Frozen - 14 days
Refrigerated - 14 days
Room temperature - 7 days

84585 - Vanillylmandelic Acid VMA 24 HR Urine (EAP 30020582)
81050 - Urine Volume Measurement (EAP 30033360)