A refrigerated urine specimen shows specific gravity 1.020 and glucose 1000 mg. What correction is required?

A refrigerated urine specimen shows specific gravity 1.020 and glucose 1000 mg. What correction is required?

• A. correction for glucose
• B. correction for temperature
• C. correction for glucose and temperature
• D. report the result

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that the glucose test result in urine can be affected by the temperature at which the test is performed or the sample has been stored. When a urine specimen is refrigerated, the enzymatic glucose assay used to measure glucose can yield a value that isn’t exactly how it would appear at the assay’s calibration temperature. To obtain an accurate glucose concentration from a refrigerated sample, you apply a correction that is specific to glucose—the glucose correction. This adjustment accounts for the temperature-related change in the reaction’s efficiency so the reported glucose reflects the true level in the patient. Temperature correction is not applied to the glucose value itself, but rather it’s the glucose result that needs the adjustment because that’s the measurement most influenced by temperature in this scenario. So, the appropriate step is to correct the glucose reading.

The key idea is that the glucose test result in urine can be affected by the temperature at which the test is performed or the sample has been stored. When a urine specimen is refrigerated, the enzymatic glucose assay used to measure glucose can yield a value that isn’t exactly how it would appear at the assay’s calibration temperature. To obtain an accurate glucose concentration from a refrigerated sample, you apply a correction that is specific to glucose—the glucose correction. This adjustment accounts for the temperature-related change in the reaction’s efficiency so the reported glucose reflects the true level in the patient.

Temperature correction is not applied to the glucose value itself, but rather it’s the glucose result that needs the adjustment because that’s the measurement most influenced by temperature in this scenario. So, the appropriate step is to correct the glucose reading.