Collection and storage of biological samples

Blood tests

Blood tests are performed in the morning and at the Data Medical Padua site, for private or non-exempt users, and in the afternoon. Some tests require early morning samples. Prior to a blood test fasting for 6 hours may be prescribed, while a longer fasting period is recommended for analysing triglycerides (12-14 hours). Fasting for 3-4 hours can be sufficient for new-borns. However, we recommend you check the requirements for test samples by calling the facility's reception desk.

If necessary, you can drink 1-2 glasses of water during fasting, but you need to avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and, with the consent of the treating physician, the use of drugs such as tranquillisers, sleeping pills, painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and vitamins. The composition of the meal that precedes the fast should be the same as usual. During your journey to the laboratory intense physical effort with sweating should be avoided, and you need to remain seated as much as possible while waiting for the test.

Blood test instructions

• Before: hold your arm outstretched and close your hand in a fist to locate the puncture point.
• During: to facilitate a successful and fast test, hold your arm outstretched and relaxed with your hand closed.
• After: to avoid any small bruises, keep your arm relaxed, outstretched and your hand open; press the cotton into the exact puncture point with your thumb for 5 minutes. For unusual tests or those with special collection procedures we recommend you contact the analysis laboratory's reception desk or the treating physician.

Urine sample

Complete urine test:  it is preferable to have a sample of the first urine of the morning, unless otherwise specified by the doctor. The sample must be collected by discarding the first jet. It is preferable to use the containers provided by the reception staff or for sale in pharmacies. The urine sample can be also collected at the toilet facilities at Data Medica.

Urocolture: urine should be collected in a sterile container to be inserted in a small yellow bag (which indicates the collection methods); both are available at reception, or in a sterile container for sale in pharmacies. The test is performed on the first urine of the morning, collected with a minimum period of 4 hours since the last urination, by following this process:

• Wash and rinse your genitalia.
• Discard the first jet of urine. 
• Collect the directly following urine in the container, being careful not to touch the inner parts.
• Discard the last jet of urine.
• Close the container again and take it to the laboratory immediately.

Please Note: antibiotic therapy or chemotherapy can interfere with the outcome of the test.

Collection of urine over 24 hours:

• Remove the urine from the first urination at the start of the day
• Collect all the urine of the day, including that from the night, and that of the first urination of the second day.

The urine should be collected in plastic containers provided free of charge from the reception or for sale in pharmacies. To avoid the cost of transporting bulky containers, you can also fill a test tube, after having mixed the urine collected well.

You must clearly show the collection period and the total amount (e.g. 1.2 litres/2 hours).
In the case of a collection over 2 hours, you should still contact the reception staff who will provide the necessary information.

For determining the activity of urinary enzymes  (e.g. amylase), using random urine samples from the morning collected in a way similar to that described for the standard urine test.

Urinary cytology: collecting the second urine of the morning, after having thoroughly washed and dried your genitalia. The urine should be collected in a container available from the laboratory that contains about 20 cc of alcohol at 70º. The sample must be delivered to the laboratory within 3 hours of collection. It is recommended that you drink at least one litre of water the day before the test.

Faeces sample

Coprocolture: faeces are collected in the containers provided by the reception staff or for sale in pharmacies. It is advisable to collect a sample from the morning of the same day. If this is not possible, faeces can be delivered the day before after having been stored in the refrigerator.

Occult blood testing: the faeces are collected in the containers provided by the reception staff by following the methods annexed thereto.  You do not need to follow a meat-free diet.

Complete faeces test: the test includes looking for both food residues and parasites. For this reason the faeces can be collected in two containers: one dry and one containing a fixative liquid (to look for parasites).

Looking for parasites and their eggs in the faeces: the sample must be as fresh as possible because the fermentation processes of faecal material destroy the parasites and their eggs after about 23 hours from issue.  It is advisable to use the special containers provided by the reception staff. If there is a clinical suspicion of an intestinal amoebiasis the use of a laxative may be recommended. In this case, the sample must be brought to the laboratory immediately for analysis.

Looking for pinworms (Scotch tape-test): pinworms which are small and white are visible to the naked eye, but their eggs are not found in faeces because, during sleep, the female leaves the anal orifice to deposit them on the outside. A piece of transparent tape needs to be applied to the anal orifice during the night; the adhesive tape will be then removed upon awakening and attached to a slide. The material required is provided by the laboratory.

Sputum

After a few coughs the patient must collect the tracheobronchial material (and not saliva) in a special sterile container. The container is available at reception or for sale in pharmacies.

Seminal fluid

At least 3 days and not more than 7 days of sexual abstinence  are required, preferably, before performing a seminal test.  After careful cleaning your genitals and after urination, the semen sample is collected in a sterile container that must be delivered to the laboratory immediately, but never past 60 minutes. Do not expose the sample to temperatures below 20º or higher than 36º.

Breath tests

• ¹³Octanoic Acid or gastric emptying  time
• ¹³Urea or Breath test to check for the presence of Helicobacter P. 
• Lactose intolerance test
• Glucose for determining bacterial contamination or intestinal bacterial overgrowth

The execution of the breath test such as ¹³Octanoic Acid and ¹³Urea only requires an 8-hour fasting period, the others, on the contrary, require fasting and a special diet.  All tests require abstention from certain pharmacological treatments, which is why you should phone up and find out about, even for bookings.

Rapid diagnostic tests

Rapid diagnosis tests are extremely quick laboratory tests, used for various analyses and the results of which you can have back within an hour of delivery of the biological sample