5-Hydroxy Indole Acetic Acid (5-HIAA)

Patient Preparation:

1. Patient should abstain from the following at least 3 days prior to and during urine specimen collection:

    1.1 Intake of food which has high content of serotonin like vegetable food, bananas, pineapples, chocolate, walnuts, pecans, kiwi, fruit, plum and avocados 1.1 Intake of food which has high content of serotonin like vegetable food, bananas, pineapples, chocolate, walnuts, pecans, kiwi, fruit, plum and avocados

    1.2 Where medically possible, drugs such as dihydrocaffein acid, p-Coumaric acid, ferulic acid and o-Hydroxybenzoic acid, drugs containing phenotiazines which may potentially interfere with the testing

    1.3 Where medically possible, drug such as Guaifenesin, Glycerol guaiacolate, Mephenesin, Phenacetin, Acetaminophen, Methenamine,Phenothiazine Tranquilizers, Acetic Acid and Levodopa which may induce increase or decrease 5-HIAA production.

 2. If the patient cannot be completely removed from a drug regime, test result should be interpreted with appropriate clinical judgement based on expected physiology response to these drugs.