Test ID: ALUR
Aluminum, Random, Urine
Secondary ID 
A test code used for billing and in test definitions created prior to November 2011
NY State Approved Indicates the status of NY State approval and if the test is orderable for NY State clients.
Useful For Suggests clinical disorders or settings where the test may be helpful
Monitoring aluminum exposure
Monitoring metallic prosthetic implant wear
Special Instructions and Forms Describes specimen collection and preparation information, test algorithms, and other information pertinent to test. Also includes pertinent information and consent forms to be used when requesting a particular test
Method Name A short description of the method used to perform the test
Dynamic Reaction Cell-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (DRC-ICP-MS)
Reporting Name A shorter/abbreviated version of the Published Name for a test; an abbreviated test name
Specimen Type Describes the specimen type needed for testing
Specimen Required Defines the optimal specimen. This field describes the type of specimen required to perform the test and the preferred volume to complete testing. The volume allows automated processing, fastest throughput and, when indicated, repeat or reflex testing.
Collection Container/Tube: Clean, plastic urine collection container
Submission Container/Tube: Plastic, 6-mL tube (Supply T465) or a clean, plastic aliquot container with no metal cap or glued insert
Specimen Volume: 1 mL
Collection Instructions:
1. Collect a random urine specimen.
2. See Metals Analysis-Collection and Transport in Special Instructions for complete instructions.
Additional Information: High concentrations of gadolinium and iodine are known to interfere with most metals tests. If either gadolinium- or iodine-containing contrast media has been administered, a specimen should not be collected for 96 hours.
Specimen Minimum Volume Defines the amount of specimen required to perform an assay once, including instrument and container dead space. Submitting the minimum specimen volume makes it impossible to repeat the test or perform confirmatory or perform reflex testing. In some situations, a minimum specimen volume may result in a QNS (quantity not sufficient) result, requiring a second specimen to be collected.
Reject Due To Identifies specimen types and conditions that may cause the specimen to be rejected
| Hemolysis | NA |
| Lipemia | NA |
| Icterus | NA |
| Other | NA |
Specimen Stability Information Provides a description of the temperatures required to transport a specimen to the laboratory. Alternate acceptable temperature(s) are also included.
| Specimen Type | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Urine | Refrigerated (preferred) | 28 days |
| Ambient | 28 days | |
| Frozen | 28 days |
Clinical Information Discusses physiology, pathophysiology, and general clinical aspects, as they relate to a laboratory test
Under normal physiologic conditions, the usual daily dietary intake of aluminum (5-10 mg) is completely eliminated. Excretion is accomplished by avid filtration of aluminum from the blood by the glomeruli of the kidney. Patients in renal failure (RF) lose the ability to clear aluminum and are candidates for aluminum toxicity. Many factors increase the incidence of aluminum toxicity in RF patients:
-Aluminum-laden dialysis water can expose dialysis patients to aluminum.
-Aluminum-laden albumin can expose patients to an aluminum burden they cannot eliminate.
-The dialysis process is not highly effective at eliminating aluminum.
-Aluminum-based phosphate binder gels are administered orally to minimize phosphate accumulation; a small fraction of this aluminum may be absorbed and accumulated.
If it is not removed by renal filtration, aluminum accumulates in the blood where it binds to proteins such as albumin and is rapidly distributed through the body. Aluminum overload leads to accumulation of aluminum at 2 sites: brain and bone. Brain deposition has been implicated as a cause of dialysis dementia. In bone, aluminum replaces calcium at the mineralization front, disrupting normal osteoid formation.
Urine aluminum concentrations are likely to be increased above the reference range in patients with metallic joint prosthesis. Prosthetic devices produced by Zimmer Company and Johnson and Johnson typically are made of aluminum, vanadium, and titanium. This list of products is incomplete, and these products change occasionally; see prosthesis product information for each device for composition details.
Reference Values Describes reference intervals and additional information for interpretation of test results. May include intervals based on age and sex when appropriate. Intervals are Mayo-derived, unless otherwise designated. If an interpretive report is provided, the reference value field will state this.
0-20 mcg/L
Reference values apply to all ages
Interpretation Provides information to assist in interpretation of the test results
Daily excretion >20 mcg/L indicates exposure to aluminum. Prosthesis wear is known to result in increased circulating concentration of metal ions.(1) Modest increase (10-20 mcg/specimen) in urine aluminum concentration is likely to be associated with a prosthetic device in good condition. Urine concentrations >50 mcg/specimen in a patient with an aluminum-based implant, not undergoing dialysis, suggest significant prosthesis wear. Increased urine trace element concentrations in the absence of corroborating clinical information do not independently predict prosthesis wear or failure.
In renal failure, the ability of the kidney to excrete aluminum decreases, while the exposure to aluminum increases (aluminum-laden dialysis water, aluminum-laden albumin, and aluminum-laden phosphate binders).
Patients receiving chelation therapy with desferrioxamine (for iron- or aluminum-overload states) also excrete considerably more aluminum in their urine than normal.
Cautions Discusses conditions that may cause diagnostic confusion, including improper specimen collection and handling, inappropriate test selection, and interfering substances
This test is not an acceptable substitute for serum aluminum measurements and is not recommended for routine aluminum screening.
Falsely increased results may be obtained if the specimen is collected in nonacid-washed polypropylene collection vessels or if metal caps are used to seal the container.
High concentrations of gadolinium and iodine are known to interfere with most metals tests. If either gadolinium- or iodine-containing contrast media has been administered, a specimen should not be collected for 96 hours.
Clinical Reference Provides recommendations for further in-depth reading of a clinical nature
1. Liu TK, Liu SH, Chang CH, Yang RS: Concentration of metal elements in the blood and urine in the patients with cementless total knee arthroplasty. Tohoku J Exp Med 1998;185:253-262
2. O'Shea S, Johnson DW: Review article: Addressing risk factors in chronic kidney disease mineral and bone disorder: Can we influence patient-level outcomes? Nephrology 2009;14:416-427
3. Meyer-Baron M, Schuper M, Knapp G, van Thriel C: Occupational aluminum exposure: Evidence in support of its neurobehavioral impact. NeuroToxicology 2007;28:1068-1078
Method Description Describes how the test is performed and provides a method-specific reference
This assay is performed on an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer in dynamic reaction cell mode. Calibrating standards and blanks are diluted with an aqueous acidic diluent containing internal standards. Quality control specimens and patient samples are diluted in an identical manner. In turn, all diluted blanks, calibrating standards, quality control specimens, and patient specimens are aspirated into a pneumatic nebulizer and the resulting aerosol directed to the hot plasma discharge by a flow of argon. In the annular plasma the aerosol is vaporized, atomized, then ionized. The ionized gases plus neutral species formed in the annular plasma space are aspirated from the plasma through an orifice into a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The mass range from 1 to 263 amu is rapidly scanned multiple times and ion counts tabulated for each mass of interest. Instrument response is defined by the linear relationship of analyte concentration vs. ion count ratio (analyte ion count/internal standard ion count). Analyte concentrations are derived by reading the ion count ratio for each mass of interest and determining the concentration from the response line.(Unpublished Mayo method)
Day(s) and Time(s) Test Performed Outlines the days and times the test is performed. This field reflects the day and time the sample must be in the testing laboratory to begin the testing process and includes any specimen preparation and processing time required before the test is performed. Some tests are listed as continuously performed, which means assays are performed several times during the day.
Tuesday, Friday; 5 p.m.
Analytic Time Defines the amount of time it takes the laboratory to setup and perform the test. This is defined in number of days. The shortest interval of time expressed is "same day/1 day," which means the results may be available the same day that the sample is received in the testing laboratory. One day means results are available 1 day after the sample is received in the laboratory.
Maximum Laboratory Time Defines the maximum time from specimen receipt at Mayo Medical Laboratories until the release of the test result
Specimen Retention Time Outlines the length of time after testing that a specimen is kept in the laboratory before it is discarded
Performing Laboratory Location The location of the laboratory that performs the test
Test Classification Provides information regarding the medical device classification for laboratory test kits and reagents. Tests may be classified as cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and used per manufacturer's instructions, or as products that do not undergo full FDA review and approval, and are then labeled as an Analyte Specific Reagent (ASR), Investigation Use Only (IUO) product, or a Research Use Only (RUO) product.
CPT Code Information Provides guidance in determining the appropriate Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code(s) information for each test or profile. The listed CPT codes reflect Mayo Medical Laboratories interpretation of CPT coding requirements. It is the responsibility of each laboratory to determine correct CPT codes to use for billing.
82108
LOINC® Code Information Provides guidance in determining the Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) values for the result codes returned for this test or profile.
| Result ID | Reporting Name | LOINC Code |
|---|---|---|
| 86377 | Aluminum, Random, U | 5577-2 |
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