Heavy Metals Panel 4, Urine with Reflex to Arsenic Fractionated

Urine cadmium concentrations can be used to assess cadmium body burden. In chronic exposures, the kidneys are the primary target organ. Symptoms associated with cadmium toxicity vary based upon route of exposure and may include tubular proteinuria, fever, headache, dyspnea, chest pain, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, sore throat and cough. Ingestion of cadmium in high concentration may cause vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, cramps, and abdominal pain.

Urinary mercury concentrations predominantly reflect acute or chronic elemental or inorganic mercury exposure. Urine concentrations in unexposed individuals are typically less than 10 ug/L. 24 hour urine concentrations of 30 to 100 ug/L may be associated with subclinical neuropsychiatric symptoms and tremor while concentrations greater than 100 ug/L can be associated with overt neuropsychiatric disturbances and tremors. Urine mercury levels may be useful in monitoring chelation therapy.
The ACGIH Biological Exposure Index (BEI) for arsenic in urine is 35 ug/L measured at the end of the work week. The ACGIH BEI is based on the sum of inorganic and methylated species. For specimens with elevated total arsenic results, fractionation is automatically performed to determine the proportions of inorganic, methylated and organic species.
Elevated results may be due to skin or collection-related contamination, including the use of collection containers that are not certified to be trace element free. If an elevated result is suspected to be due to contamination, confirmation with a second specimen collected in a certified trace element-free container is recommended.
Methodology: Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS)

Per 24h calculations are provided to aid interpretation for collections with a duration of 24 hours and an average daily urine volume. For specimens with notable deviations in collection time or volume, ratios of analytes to a corresponding urine creatinine concentration may assist in result interpretation.