The advanced urine chemistry survey.

A special urine chemistry survey was implemented by the College of American Pathologists during the year 1981. Ten analytes are included in this survey, including aldosterone, free catecholamines, total catecholamines, estriol, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid, 17-ketogenic steroids, 17-ketosteroids, vanillylmandelic acid, cortisol, and metanephrines. Data obtained from 1981 and 1982 was derived from 398 subscriptions. Inadequacies in quantitative analytic methods for aldosterone, 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid, 17-ketogenic steroids, and urinary free cortisol were demonstrated. Some screening methods for 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid yielded false results.