An infant is in the hospital for hypernatremia. Which of the following is the most appropriate means of collecting urine for a specific gravity test?

Question

1. Placing cotton balls in the diaper and then (wearing gloves) squeezing a drop of urine from the cotton balls onto the specific gravity test strip
2. Performing a sterile in-and-out catheterization to collect urine for the specific gravity test strip
3. Placing a urine collection bag on the infant
4. Inserting a Foley catheter to obtain a sterile urine specimen for the specific gravity test strip

Answer 1

1
Rationale:
1. Urine for a specific gravity test should be collected by placing cotton balls in the diaper. Only a small amount of clean (uncontaminated from stool) urine is needed to do a specific gravity test.
2. An in-and-out catheter would be invasive for this clean collection of a small amount of urine.
3. A urine bag can be irritating to the skin and would not be appropriate for collecting a small amount of urine for a specific gravity test.
4. A Foley catheter would be invasive for this clean collection of a small amount of urine.