If a urine sample has been collected and unpreserved for over 2 hours at room temperature, what should you do?

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Multiple Choice

If a urine sample has been collected and unpreserved for over 2 hours at room temperature, what should you do?

Time and temperature directly affect urine culture reliability. An unpreserved urine sample left at room temperature for more than about two hours can undergo bacterial overgrowth or die-off and degradation of the specimen, leading to unreliable results. The appropriate action is to reject the specimen and request a fresh collection, ideally with proper preservative or prompt transport for processing. Preserving after the fact isn’t reliable for an already unpreserved sample, and proceeding with testing would risk inaccurate outcomes.

Time and temperature directly affect urine culture reliability. An unpreserved urine sample left at room temperature for more than about two hours can undergo bacterial overgrowth or die-off and degradation of the specimen, leading to unreliable results. The appropriate action is to reject the specimen and request a fresh collection, ideally with proper preservative or prompt transport for processing. Preserving after the fact isn’t reliable for an already unpreserved sample, and proceeding with testing would risk inaccurate outcomes.

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