Urinalysis with Culture Reflex

Tube Type = Urine Tube Gray Top or Urine Tube Yellow Type

Specimen Type
(Needs BOTH tubes)

Test ID LAB5187
EPIC Order URINALYSIS with Micro and Cult Reflex
CPT Code(s) 81001, 87086 (UA, urine culture)
Group/Individual Test Group
Laboratory Core Laboratory/Clinical Microbiology
Tube Station Gray Top Tube (Culture) to 82
Pale Yellow (Urinalysis) to 30 (routine), 888 (STAT)
Specimen Routine:

Minimum volume:

  • Gray Tube: 3mL
  • Pale Yellow Tube: 10mL

NOTE: if Minimum volume cannot be obtained for each tube, send specimen in original collection cup.
Stability
Room temperature: Gray Top - Yes
Refrigerator: DO NOT Refrigerate Gray Top
Pale Yellow Tubes stable 8 hours refrigerated, 2 hours room temperature
Refrigerate original collection cup stable <8 hours.
Frozen: NO
Transport Deliver urine to lab within 1 hour of collection
Availability Routine: 24 hrs/day
STAT: YES
Turnaround Time STAT 1 hour, Routine 2 hours
Reference Range Normal: See Urinalysis (UA) webpage for urinalysis reference ranges.
Comments
Criteria for Reflex:
Leukocyte esterase: Small, Moderate, Large
Nitrite: Positive
WBC: >(greater than) or =(equal to) 5 wbc/hpf
Bacteria: Rare, Occasional, Few, Moderate, Many

Patients must meet certain criteria in order to have the urinalysis with culture reflex. Excluded patients include:

Patients who are < 5 years old
Pregnant women
 Patients currently on antibiotics
 Patients who are neutropenic
It will be the physician's responsibility to determine if these exclusion criteria apply.
The physician will still have the option to order a UA or urine culture separately.

Reviewed by J. Carr on December 20, 2023

UNC Hospitals
McLendon Clinical Laboratories
101 Manning Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514