Mass spectrometry allows for analysis of multiple hormone and organic acid metabolites from small urine volumes; however, to assess the full extent of daily hormone production, 24-h urine collections are usually required. The aims of this study were, first, to confirm that mass spectrometric analysis of an array of hormones and organic acids would yield similar results in both liquid and dried urine, and, second, to determine if collection of four dried spot urine samples could be substituted for a 24-h collection when measuring reproductive hormones. Two study populations were included in this prospective observational study. Twenty individuals collected both a spot liquid urine and dried urine on filter paper to analyze eight organic acids. A second group of 26 individuals collected both a 24-h urine and four dried spot urines during waking hours throughout the same day for evaluation of 17 reproductive hormones and metabolites; data from 18 of these individuals were available to compare liquid versus dried urine results. Dried urine was extracted, hydrolyzed, and derivatized before analysis by mass spectrometry; all analytes from dried urine were normalized to urine creatinine. Reproductive hormone results from dried and liquid urine were in excellent agreement with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) greater than 0.90; comparison of dried to liquid urine for organic acids showed good to excellent agreement (ICC range: 0.75 to 0.99). Comparison between the 4-spot urine collection and 24-h urine collection methods showed excellent agreement (ICC > 0.9) for 14 of the 17 urine metabolites and good agreement for the others (ICC 0.78 to 0.85) with no systematic differences between the two methods of collection. The burden of urine collection can be reduced using collection of four spot dried urines on filter paper without compromising comparability with hormone results from a 24-h urine collection. A large number of urine analytes can be assessed from the dried urine with similar results to those from liquid urine. Given the ease of sample handling, this 4-spot dried urine assay would be useful for both clinical assessment of patients and for large epidemiologic studies.

中文翻译：

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干燥尿液测试对尿激素和代谢产物的综合评估的可靠性

质谱分析可从少量尿液中分析多种激素和有机酸代谢物；但是，要评估每日激素的产生量，通常需要收集24小时尿液。这项研究的目的是，首先，要确认对一系列激素和有机酸的质谱分析在液态尿液和干尿液中都能产生相似的结果，其次，要确定是否可以收集四个干斑尿液样品。在测量生殖激素时可代替24小时采集。该前瞻性观察研究包括两个研究人群。二十个人在滤纸上收集了液态尿液和干尿液，以分析八种有机酸。第二组26个人在同一天的清醒时间内收集了24小时尿液和4个干燥的点尿，以评估17种生殖激素和代谢产物。这些人中有18个人的数据可用于比较液体和干尿的结果。将干燥的尿液提取，水解和衍生化，然后通过质谱分析；干燥尿液中的所有分析物均以尿肌酐标准化。干燥尿液和液体尿液中的生殖激素结果极佳，组内相关系数（ICC）大于0.90；干尿与液态尿中有机酸的比较显示出良好至极佳的一致性（ICC范围：0.75至0.99）。4点尿液采集和24小时尿液采集方法之间的比较显示出极好的一致性（ICC> 0。9）在17种尿液代谢物中，有14种对于其他代谢物具有良好的一致性（ICC 0.78至0.85），两种收集方法之间没有系统的差异。通过在滤纸上收集四个干点尿液，可以减轻收集尿液的负担，而不会影响24小时尿液收集所产生的激素的可比性。可以从干燥的尿液中评估出大量尿液分析物，其结果与液体尿液中的分析物相似。考虑到样品处理的简便性，这种四点干燥尿液测定方法既可用于患者的临床评估，也可用于大规模的流行病学研究。通过在滤纸上收集四个干点尿液，可以减轻收集尿液的负担，而不会影响24小时尿液收集所产生的激素的可比性。可以从干燥的尿液中评估出大量尿液分析物，其结果与液体尿液中的分析物相似。考虑到样品处理的简便性，这种四点干燥尿液测定方法既可用于患者的临床评估，也可用于大规模的流行病学研究。通过在滤纸上收集四个干点尿液，可以减轻收集尿液的负担，而不会影响24小时尿液收集所产生的激素的可比性。可以从干燥的尿液中评估出大量尿液分析物，其结果与液体尿液中的分析物相似。考虑到样品处理的简便性，这种四点干燥尿液测定方法既可用于患者的临床评估，也可用于大规模的流行病学研究。