Urine Nicotine & Metabolites
Test Mnemonic
UNICOT
CPT Codes
- 80323 - QTY (1)
- G0480 - QTY (1)
LOINC ®
3854-7
Includes
- Nicotine
- Cotinine
- Anabasine
- 3-OH-COTININE
Performing Laboratory
ARUP
Specimen Requirements
| Volume | Type | Container | Collect Temperature | Transport Temperature | Special Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 mL | Urine, random | Clean container (No preservatives) | Ambient | Transfer 4 mL urine to standard aliquot tube |
Minimum Specimen Requirements
| Volume | Type | Container | Collect Temperature | Transport Temperature | Special Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mL |
Stability
| Environmental Condition | Description |
|---|---|
| Refrigerated | 10 days |
| Ambient | 10 days |
| Frozen | 8 months |
Days Performed
Sun - Sat
Turnaround Time
2 - 6 days
Methodology
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) |
Reference Range
| 3-OH-COTININE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | Age From | Age To | Type | Range | Range Unit |
| Normal | <50 | ng/mL | |||
| Anabasine | |||||
| Sex | Age From | Age To | Type | Range | Range Unit |
| Normal | < 5 | ng/mL | |||
| Cotinine | |||||
| Sex | Age From | Age To | Type | Range | Range Unit |
| Normal | < 15 | ng/mL | |||
| Nicotine | |||||
| Sex | Age From | Age To | Type | Range | Range Unit |
| Normal | < 15 | ng/mL |
Special Info
Specimens exposed to repeated freeze/thaw cycles are not acceptable. This test is New York DOH approved.
Clinical Info
This test is designed to evaluate recent use of nicotine-containing products. Passive and active exposure cannot be discriminated definitively, although a cutoff of 100 ng/mL cotinine is frequently used for surgery qualification purposes. For smoking cessation programs or compliance testing, the absence of expected drug(s) and/or drug metabolite(s) may indicate non-compliance, inappropriate timing of specimen collection relative to drug administration, poor drug absorption, diluted/adulterated urine, or limitations of testing. The concentration value must be greater than or equal to the cutoff to be reported as positive. Anabasine is included as a biomarker of tobacco use, versus nicotine replacement. Interpretive questions should be directed to the laboratory. This test is for medical purposes only and is not valid for forensic use.