Thallium, Urine
Test Mnemonic
UTHAL
CPT Codes
- 83018 - QTY (1)
Performing Laboratory
ARUP
Specimen Requirements
| Volume | Type | Container | Collect Temperature | Transport Temperature | Special Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mL | Urine, 24-hour (well-mixed) | Metal free clean container | Refrigerate during collection. | Refrigerated | Patient Prep: Diet, medication, and nutritional supplements may introduce interfering substances. Patients should be encouraged to discontinue nutritional supplements, vitamins, minerals, and non-essential over-the-counter medications upon the advice of their physician. High concentrations of iodine may interfere with elemental testing. Collection of urine specimens from patients receiving iodinated or gadolinium-based contrast media should be avoided for a minimum of 72 hours post-exposure. Collection from patients with impaired kidney function should be avoided for a minimum of 14 days post-contrast media exposure. Must collect specimen in plastic container. Record total volume and collection time interval on container and requisition. Transfer urine aliquot into a trace element-free transport tube (ARUP #43116). |
Alternate Specimen Requirements
| Volume | Type | Container | Collect Temperature | Transport Temperature | Special Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mL | Urine, random | Metal free clean container | Refrigerated | Patient Prep: Diet, medication, and nutritional supplements may introduce interfering substances. Patients should be encouraged to discontinue nutritional supplements, vitamins, minerals, and non-essential over-the-counter medications upon the advice of their physician. High concentrations of iodine may interfere with elemental testing. Collection of urine specimens from patients receiving iodinated or gadolinium-based contrast media should be avoided for a minimum of 72 hours post-exposure. Collection from patients with impaired kidney function should be avoided for a minimum of 14 days post-contrast media exposure. Must collect specimen in plastic container. Record total volume on container and requisition. Transfer urine aliquot into a trace element-free transport tube (ARUP #43116). |
Minimum Specimen Requirements
| Volume | Type | Container | Collect Temperature | Transport Temperature | Special Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mL |
Stability
| Environmental Condition | Description |
|---|---|
| Ambient | 1 week |
| Refrigerated | 2 weeks |
| Frozen | 1 year |
Days Performed
Sun - Sat
Turnaround Time
2 - 6 days
Methodology
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Inductively Coupled Plasma / Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) |
Reference Range
| Thallium, Urine (24-hour) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Age From | Age To | Type | Range | Range Unit |
| Normal | 0.0 - 0.4 | ug/d | |||
| Thallium, Urine per volume | |||||
| Sex | Age From | Age To | Type | Range | Range Unit |
| Normal | 0.0 - 2.0 | ug/L | |||
| Thallium, Urine ratio to creatinine | |||||
| Sex | Age From | Age To | Type | Range | Range Unit |
| Normal | 0.0 - 2.0 | ug/g crt |
Special Info
Patient Prep: Diet, medication, and nutritional supplements may introduce interfering substances. Patients should be encouraged to discontinue nutritional supplements, vitamins, minerals, and non-essential over-the-counter medications (upon the advice of their physician). High concentrations of iodine may interfere with elemental testing. Collection of urine specimens from patients receiving iodinated or gadolinium-based contrast media should be avoided for a minimum of 72 hours post-exposure. Collection from patients with impaired kidney function should be avoided for a minimum of 14 days post-contrast media exposure. ARUP studies indicate that refrigeration of urine alone, during and after collection, preserves specimens adequately if tested within 14 days of collection. Record total volume and collection time interval on tube and requisition. Unacceptable Conditions: Urine collected within 72 hours after administration of iodinated or gadolinium-based contrast media, acid preserved urine, specimens contaminated with blood or fecal material, specimens transported in non-trace element-free transport tubes (with the exception of the original device). This test is New York DOH approved.
Clinical Info
Urinary thallium levels may reflect recent or chronic exposure, and the presence of thallium in urine after acute exposure may persist for up to several weeks. Concentrations less than 5 µg/L are unlikely to cause adverse health effects while concentrations greater than 500 µg/L have been associated with clinical poisoning. After severe thallium poisoning, reported symptoms have varying times of onset and include gastroenteritis, multi-organ failure and neurologic injury. Peripheral neuropathy and alopecia are well-documented effects of acute and chronic exposure. Human health effects from low level thallium exposure are unknown.