Find Locations
For hours, walk-ins and appointments.Test Includes
Amylase on random or timed urine collections
Special Instructions
The test request form must state date and time collection started, date and time collection finished, and urine volume.
Expected Turnaround Time
1 - 3 days
Turnaround time is defined as the usual number of days from the date of pickup of a specimen for testing to when the result is released to the ordering provider. In some cases, additional time should be allowed for additional confirmatory or additional reflex tests. Testing schedules may vary.
Related Information
Related Documents
Specimen Requirements
Specimen
Urine (timed)
Volume
10 mL aliquot
Minimum Volume
0.5 mL aliquot (Note: This volume does not allow for repeat testing.)
Container
Plastic urine container without preservative
Collection
Collect timed specimen. Instruct the patient to void at the beginning of the collection period and discard the specimen. Collect all urine including the final specimen voided at the end of collection period.
Storage Instructions
Room temperature
Stability Requirements
Temperature | Period |
|---|---|
Room temperature | 14 days |
Refrigerated | 14 days |
Frozen | 3 days |
Freeze/thaw cycles | Stable x3 |
Causes for Rejection
Presence of acid preservative (pH <3); improper labeling
Test Details
Use
Work-up for abdominal pain, epigastric tenderness, nausea, and vomiting. An enzyme with molecular weight of 45 to 55 kilodaltons, urinary amylase is used in the differential diagnosis of pancreatitis. It is very useful in diagnosis of pseudocyst of the pancreas, where the urine amylase may remain elevated for weeks after the serum amylase has returned to normal, after a bout of acute pancreatitis.
Methodology
Enzymatic
Reference Interval
Age | Male (U/hr) | Female (U/hr) |
|---|---|---|
0 to 17 y | Not established | Not established |
>17 y | 0−18 | 0−17 |
Additional Information
Macroamylasemia is characterized by high serum amylase but normal urine amylase. The amylase:creatinine ratio remains useful for the diagnosis of macroamylasemia, but its nonspecificity has otherwise left it with few other applications. In macroamylasemia the clearance is very low.1
Unlike serum amylase, urine amylase levels are normal with renal failure. While serum amylase usually returns to normal within three to five days, without complications urine amylase is increased longer than serum amylase in acute pancreatitis. Two-hour collections are more practical and provide results sooner than longer collections.
The major test for pancreatitis additional to serum and urine amylase is serum lipase. It has good specificity and its laboratory analysis is greatly improved from the 1960s. Also, some patients with pancreatitis have very high triglyceride levels. Immunoreactive trypsin is not available stat and is not widely available at all.
Footnotes
1. Eckfeldt JH, Levitt MD. Diagnostic enzymes for pancreatic disease. Clin Lab Med. 1989 Dec; 9(4):731-743. 2480201
References
Street HV, Close JR. Determination of amylase activity in biological fluids. Clin Chim Acta. 1956 May-Jun; 1(3):256-268. 13343527
LOINC® Map
| Order Code | Order Code Name | Order Loinc | Result Code | Result Code Name | UofM | Result LOINC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 003293 | Amylase, Urine | 1799-6 | 003897 | Amylase Urine | U/L | 1799-6 |
| 003293 | Amylase, Urine | 1799-6 | 133462 | Timing Interval | hr | 13362-9 |
| 003293 | Amylase, Urine | 1799-6 | 010785 | Amylase, Urine | U/hr | 38193-9 |
© 2021 Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings and Lexi-Comp Inc. All Rights Reserved.
CPT Statement/Profile Statement
The LOINC® codes are copyright © 1994-2021, Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) Committee. Permission is granted in perpetuity, without payment of license fees or royalties, to use, copy, or distribute the LOINC® codes for any commercial or non-commercial purpose, subject to the terms under the license agreement found at https://loinc.org/license/. Additional information regarding LOINC® codes can be found at LOINC.org, including the LOINC Manual, which can be downloaded at LOINC.org/downloads/files/LOINCManual.pdf