Catecholamine Tests
Reviewed
Also called: Dopamine test, Norepinephrine test, Epinephrine test, Free catecholamines, Fractionated catecholamines
Catecholamine tests measure the amount of catecholamines in your urine or blood.
Specimen: Urine or blood
Why this test may be ordered
- To diagnose or rule out pheochromocytoma, neuroblastoma, or paraganglioma
- To see if treatment for these tumors is working
Preparation and collection
You may be asked to avoid certain foods for two to three days before the test. These could include: Caffeinated foods and drinks, such as coffee, tea, energy drinks, and chocolate, Alcohol and tobacco, Bananas, Citrus fruits, Foods that contain vanilla. You may also be asked to avoid stress and vigorous exercise before your test, as these can affect catecholamine levels. Certain medicines may also affect levels. Be sure to tell your provider about all the medicines you are taking. But don't stop taking any medicines unless your provider tells you to. If you are having a blood test, you may need to fast (not eat or drink) for several hours before the test.
A catecholamine test may be done in urine or blood. For a catecholamine urine test, your health care provider will ask you to collect all your urine during a 24-hour period. During the collection period, store the urine container in a refrigerator or cooler with ice.
There is no risk to having a urine test. There is very little risk to having a blood test. You may have slight pain or bruising at the spot where the needle was put in, but most symptoms go away quickly.
Understanding results
To understand the results of your catecholamine test, your provider may consider your symptoms, medical history, and the results of other tests.
- High levels: If your results show high levels of catecholamines in your urine or blood, it may be a sign of a pheochromocytoma, neuroblastoma, or paraganglioma tumor. Limitation: High levels of these hormones don't always mean you have a tumor. Your levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and/or epinephrine can be affected by stress, vigorous exercise, caffeine, smoking, and alcohol. Next step: If your results showed high levels of these hormones, your provider will probably order more tests.
- High levels during tumor treatment: If you are being treated for one of these tumors, high levels may mean your treatment is not working. Limitation: These tests can help diagnose certain tumors, but they can't tell whether the tumor is cancerous. Next step: If you have questions about your results or your child's results, talk to your provider.
- Cannot determine if a tumor is cancerous.
- High levels can be caused by stress, exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol, and medications.
- Results must be interpreted with other clinical information and are not diagnostic on their own.
- Blood levels can change quickly and may be affected by the stress of the blood draw.
What to do next
If your results showed high levels of these hormones, your provider will probably order more tests. These include imaging tests such as a CT scan or an MRI, which can help your provider get more information about a suspected tumor.
- How should I prepare for the test?
- Can stress or exercise affect my results?
- What do my results mean?
- Will I need additional tests if my results are high?
- Is there any risk to the test?
Evidence source
Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine (MedlinePlus). Practices and reference ranges may differ in your country.