Urine should be examined ____ collection.

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The most important consideration is that the urine specimen be fresh or suitably preserved,usually by refrigeration.Ideally,the urine should be examined within 30 minutes of collection,because decomposition begins within this time and urine is an excellent culture medium for bacterial growth.If examination within 30 minutes of collection is impossible,then test the specimen within 1 or 2 hours,but it should be refrigerated at 4° C as soon as possible after voiding.It can generally be preserved in this way for 6 to 8 hours,with no gross alterations (except possibly for bilirubin and urobilinogen,which are also susceptible to exposure to light).Refrigeration can precipitate amorphous urates or phosphates,which may obscure more important components in the microscopic examination.Specimens left for more than 2 hours at room temperature are not acceptable.Chemical preservatives are usually reserved for 24-hour urine collections,because they may interfere with parts of the routine urinalysis.

Urine Should Be Examined ____ Collection