Collection Requirements

Patients should not eat avocados, bananas, butternut, cantaloupe, dates, eggplant, grapefruit, hickory nuts, honeydew, kiwi fruit, melons, nuts, pecans, pineapple, plums, tomatoes, or walnuts for a 48 hour period prior to start and duration of collection. Could result in falsely elevated 5-HIAA excretion. Medications affecting metabolism of serotonin must be avoided at least 72 hours before and during collection. Patients should also avoid coffee, tea, and tobacco. Patient should consult their physician before discontinuing any medications.
Discard first morning urine and collect all urine for 24 hours. Preferred method of collection for 24 hour collection: collect urine with 25 mL of 6N HCl at start of collection to maintain pH between 2 and 3. Refrigerate urine during collection (critical). Mix the collection well before removing aliquot. Record total volume on test request and on container label.