Sampling instructions

Dear patients,
in order to ensure the greatest possible yield of laboratory examinations and that it was not necessary to repeat samplings unnecessarily due to poor preparation or inappropriate sampling, we have prepared brief instructions for you on the individual types of the most frequently performed examinations. You will learn what you should watch out for before taking, what to do, and what not to do.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Blood collection

The collection is best done in the morning.
The preparation starts in the evening of the previous day. Have a lighter meal for dinner - avoid oily, fatty, very sweet foods and alcohol.
After that, don’t eat anything until your own collection. The recommended fasting time is approximately 10-12 hours.
To prevent dehydration, follow the drinking regime - preferably drink plain water or unsweetened weak tea. In the morning before sampling, it is advisable to drink around ¼ liter of liquid.
In the morning before sampling, do not smoke and avoid heavy physical exertion.
If you regularly take any medications, you will be informed by the attending physician if it is necessary to omit them before the collection.
If you are taking blood thinners, have an allergy to e.g. a patch, or feel nausea or weakness during the collection, please inform the nurse.

Urine collection

If the attending physician does not determine otherwise, the examination of the first-morning urine is performed.
For women, the sampling should be done outside the period of menstruation.
Before sampling, follow your normal drinking regime and avoid greater physical exertion.
Urine is collected by the patient himself at home or directly in the doctor’s office at the request of the doctor in a test tube/container intended for this purpose.
Please pay extra attention to your own collection in order to eliminate as much as possible the possibility of contamination and the need to repeat the sample.
Wash your hands with soap and prepare the collection tube/container - we never touch the inside surface. Clean the external genitalia with water.
Collect a medium stream of urine – ie. we urinate the first part of the urine into the toilet, collect the middle part into a test tube/collection container, and urinate the rest of the urine again into the toilet. We close the test tube.
If you collect a urine sample at home, bring it to the doctor’s office within 2 hours. A sample delivered later may distort the result.
Try to protect the tube from extreme temperatures.

Stool collection - TOKS (Test for occult bleeding in the stool)

We perform it as part of colon and rectal tumor screening and in some other indicated cases.
There is no need to follow any special diet before sampling.
For women, sampling is not recommended 3 days before, during and 3 days after menstruation.
Stool collection is carried out at home with a special collection kit, which will be issued to you at the doctor’s office. Follow the instructions in the package leaflet, in short - prepare the test and remove the stick from the tube, place the stool on a dry pad (it should not come in contact with water), insert the stick into 3 different parts of the stool, dip the stick back into the tube and close. Then bring the test back to the doctor’s office, where we will evaluate it.

Stool collection - other examinations

Take the sample into the designated collection tube, which we will give you at the doctor’s office.
Using a spatula/wooden spatula, place a stool sample roughly the size of a hazelnut into the collection container. Close the container properly and bring it to the surgery preferably in the morning.
In the case of examination of stool for parasites, 3 samples are taken every other day due to the discontinuity of excretion of cysts or eggs in different parasites. Please label each sample tube with the date of sample collection. You can bring the samples to the doctor’s office either directly on the day of collection or store them in the refrigerator (temperature 2-8 °C) and then bring all the samples at once. However, samples stored in this way should be tested no later than 5 days after collection.

Throat swab

We carry out swabbing in the morning (most often before 9:00 a.m.).
Do not eat, drink, smoke, brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with mouthwash or other disinfectant the morning before the sample collection. There could be a distortion of the result and the need to perform a new sampling.

Nose swab

We carry out swabbing in the morning (most often before 9:00 a.m.).
Do not apply any nasal sprays or rinse the morning before collection.

Instructions for patient preparation for collections of blood, urine, stool, and throat swab