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Test Code HGUOE Mercury Occupational Exposure, Random, Urine


Specimen Required


Patient Preparation:

1. For 48 hours before collection, patient should not eat seafood.

2. High concentrations of gadolinium and iodine are known to potentially interfere with most inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry-based metal tests. If either gadolinium- or iodine-containing contrast media has been administered, a specimen should not be collected for 96 hours.

Supplies: Urine Tubes, 10 mL (T068)

Collection Container/Tube: Clean, plastic urine container with no metal cap or glued insert

Submission Container/Tube: Plastic, 10-mL urine tube or clean, plastic aliquot container with no metal cap or glued insert

Specimen Volume: 3 mL

Collection Instructions:

1. Collect a random urine specimen.

2. See Metals Analysis Specimen Collection and Transport for complete instructions.


Secondary ID

608897

Useful For

Detecting mercury toxicity due to occupational exposure

Profile Information

Test ID Reporting Name Available Separately Always Performed
HGOU Mercury Occupational Exposure No Yes
CRETR Creatinine, Random, U No Yes

Method Name

HGOU: Triple-Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS)

CRETR: Enzymatic Colorimetric Assay

Reporting Name

Mercury Occupat Exp, Random, U

Specimen Type

Urine

Specimen Minimum Volume

1.5 mL

Specimen Stability Information

Specimen Type Temperature Time
Urine Refrigerated (preferred) 7 days
  Frozen  7 days

Reject Due To

  All specimens will be evaluated at Mayo Clinic Laboratories for test suitability.

Clinical Information

The correlation between the levels of mercury (Hg) excretion in the urine and the clinical symptoms is considered poor.

 

Previous thought indicated urine as a more appropriate marker of inorganic mercury because organic mercury represented only a small fraction of urinary mercury. Based on possible demethylation of methylmercury within the body, urine may represent a mixture of dietary methylmercury and inorganic mercury. Seafood consumption can contribute to urinary mercury levels (up to 30%),(1) which is consistent with the suggestion that due to demethylation processes in the human body, a certain proportion of urinary mercury can originate from dietary consumption of fish/seafood.(2)

 

For more information see HG / Mercury, Blood.

Reference Values

MERCURY/CREATININE:

Biological Exposure Index (BEI): <35 mcg/g creatinine prior to shift

 

CREATININE:

<18 years: Not established

≥18 years: 16-326 mg/dL

Interpretation

Daily urine excretion of mercury greater than 50 mcg/day indicates significant exposure (per World Health Organization standard).

Method Description

Mercury:

The metal of interest is analyzed by triple-quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.(Unpublished Mayo method)

 

Creatinine:

This enzymatic method is based on the conversion of creatinine with the aid of creatininase, creatinase, and sarcosine oxidase to form glycine, formaldehyde, and hydrogen peroxide. Catalyzed by peroxidase the liberated hydrogen peroxide reacts with 4-aminophenazone and HTIB (2,4,6-triiodo03-hydroxybenzoic acid) to form a quinone imine chromogen. The color intensity of the quinone imine chromogen formed is directly proportional to the creatinine concentration in the reaction mixture.(Package insert: Creatinine plus ver.2. Roche Diagnostics; 07/2024)

Performing Laboratory

Mayo Clinic Laboratories in Rochester

Test Classification

This test was developed and its performance characteristics determined by Mayo Clinic in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements. It has not been cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

CPT Code Information

83825

82570

LOINC Code Information

Test ID Test Order Name Order LOINC Value
HGUOE Mercury Occupat Exp, Random, U 13465-0

 

Result ID Test Result Name Result LOINC Value
CRETR Creatinine, Random, U 2161-8
608893 Mercury Occupational Exposure 13465-0

Day(s) Performed

Monday through Friday