Action: bacteriostatic when present at 10 to 20 g/L. It can be bactericidal at high concentrations.
Indications:
(1) time between collection and testing is > 2 hours
(2) to stabilize the specimen for microbiological studies
Available as: dry chemical
Amount to add to urine: 10 to 15 grams for a 24 hour urine (or 10 to 20 g/L)
Specimens preserved with boric acid can be cultured for bacteria and yeast.
Specimens preserved with boric acid are suitable for the following chemical analyses:
(1) albumin, total protein, microalbumin
(2) aldosteronecalcium
(3) cateacholamines, metanephrines, vanillylmandelic acid (VMA)
(4) chloride
(5) chorionic gonadotropin
(6) citrate
(7) corticosteroids: cortisol, 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (17-OH), 17-ketosteroids
(8) creatine
(9) creatinine
(10) estrogens
(11) FSH or LH
(12) glucose
(13) histamine and methylhistamine
(14) 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA)
(15) iron
(16) microglobulin
(17) NTX-telopeptide
(18) oxalate
(19) prostaglandins
(20) sulfate
(21) uric acid
It is not suitable for specimens being submitted for
(1) heavy metal analysis
(2) dipstick urinalysis
(3) urine cytology
