24 Hour Urine, Homovanillic Acid (HVA)

Synonyms

• 24 HOUR URINE, HOMOVANILLIC ACID (HVA)
• HOMOVANILLIC ACID, 24 HOUR URINE
• HOMOVANILLIC ACID, 24 HR URINE
• HVA
• LAB401

Cerner Name

Homovanillic Acid, 24 Hr Urine

Clinical Info

Homovanillic acid (HVA) measurement in urine is used for screening children for catecholamine-secreting tumors such as neuroblastoma, pheochromocytoma, and other neural crest tumors and monitoring those who have had treatment for these tumors.
HVA measurement is also useful to diagnose children with disorders of catecholamine metabolism such as monoamine oxidase-A deficiency and dopamine beta-hydroxylase deficiency, which results in either decreased or elevated urinary HVA values, respectively.
Treatment with L-dopa can impact test results and should be discontinued 24 hours prior to collection. Bactrim can impact test results and should be noted at time of collection.

Specimen Sources

Urine, Catheter Urine, Clean Catch

Specimen Types

Urine

Container

24hr Ur 50% Acetic A

Collection Instructions

Container/Tube: 24 Hour urine collection with 25 mL of 50% acetic acid as a preservative
Specimen: Entire 24 Hr container or a 5 mL aliquot of a well mixed 24 h collection
Transport Temperature: Refrigerated
Stability: 28 Days Refrigerated
180 Days Frozen
Collection Instructions:
1. Collect a 24-hour urine specimen.
2. Add 25 mL of 50% acetic acid as preservative at start of collection. If specimen is refrigerated during collection, preservative may be added up to 12 hours after collection. Use 15 mL of 50% acetic acid for children less than 5 years old. This preservative is intended to achieve a pH of between approximately 1 and 5. If necessary, adjust urine pH to 1 to 5 with 50% acetic or hydrochloric acid.

Specimen Volume

Entire 24 Hr container or a 5 mL aliquot of a well mixed 24 h collection

Transport Instructions

Refrigerated

Specimen Stability

28 Days Refrigerated
180 Days Frozen

Methodology

Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

Days Performed

Performing Laboratory

Mayo Clinic Laboratories in Rochester

CPT

83150
LOINC Code: 13760-4

PDM

5902541

Only Orderable at Locations:

Orderable Everywhere

Results

Result Interpretation

Forms