Ultrasound Instructions

When to come empty stomach?
All ultrasound examinations of upper abdomen or whole abdomen require you to come empty stomach. This is essentially to see gall bladder in distended condition. However, practically we are able to see it well in most of the patients and as a rule, we do not recommend empty stomach. But once in a while, if gall bladder is completely contracted, we may suggest you to come empty stomach again to have a better look at gall bladder.

When to come full bladder?
Generally all lower abdomen and whole abdomen examinations require full urinary bladder. Also, examinations of KUB and early pregnancy (generally up to 3-4 months) will require full bladder. Full bladder means you have to take lot of water at least 1-2 hrs before examination and not pass urine. A well distended urinary bladder helps in seeing uterus, ovaries and adnexa properly in females and prostate in males. It also helps in seeing small stones in bladder and ureters in KUB examination. It is important to note that an urge to pass urine does not indicate you are having full bladder. This may be due to infection or enlargement of prostate.

A really full bladder will make you uncomfortable. We need you to have full bladder, but you should be comfortable. For these examinations, come with some margin to wait as your turn may not come immediately on reaching clinic.

When you come in for your ultrasound examination for pregnancy?
Drink 2 to 3 glasses of fruit juice/Water 20-30 minutes prior to the appointment unless otherwise ordered by your physician. We would also like some fluids in your bladder to bring the baby's head out of the pelvis, but it does not need to be extremely full.

Examination of children
Examination of small children is difficult if they are crying. A well satisfied child is less prone to crying. We do not normally recommend children to be be empty stomach except in some situations where it can be necessary for investigation. Sometimes child may need to be sedated.

X-Ray Examination
Generally no preparation is required for routine x-ray examinations. But x-ray of abdomen/ KUB/ LS spine will require you to have preparation from the night before the appointment with charcol/unienzyme and some laxatives. Special X-ray investigations will require additional preparations and these will be given to you at the time of appointment itself.

Pregnant Women
Pregnant women are advised not to get an X-ray based investigations like X-ray, OPG Scan, CT Scan, Mammography etc. However, in some circumstances, if clinician requires the investigation, kindly inform the radiologist at the Centre about your status.

As per the new Govt guidelines, patient who wish to undergo a pregnancy Ultrasound must furnish a photo Identity such as Aadhar Card, Driving License, PAN card, Ration Card, Passport etc **. Original prescription of qualified doctor for the examination is also must. You will also be required to fill a form and sign it.

PFT does not require any preparations.

Pathology Services - Patient Instructions
Here are some guidelines which will help to prepare you better for various laboratory tests. Kindly contact our customer care team to know about any special instructions for sample collection.

1. Although, it’s advisable to perform the tests on a fasting sample, except post-prandial or random samples, this helps us to minimize the interference of the factors affecting the result. There are some of the tests for which strict fasting is required ( 8- 12 hours) in which light snack or morning tea is not taken.

Some of the common test performed on fasting are
• Fasting Sugar
• Lipid Profile
• Insulin - Fasting
• Cortisol- Morning
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin B12
• HOMA-IR
• C-peptide fasting etc.

2. Smoking or eating just before sample collection is not advisable.

3. Glucose test (Glucose tolerance, Fasting and Post prandial -Sugar) - Many sugar tests, might need sample collection at specified interval and time. Kindly stay in the lab during this duration as exertion can affect the glucose levels.

 4. Lipid Profile - Requires 10-12 hours of strict fasting (without drinks or food).

 5. Creatinine - Kindly refrain from eating meat as some studies have shown that eating meat, prior to testing can temporarily raise the creatinine level.

6. Fecal Occult blood test: Its advisable to avoid, meat, painkillers, iron tablets, vitamin c tablets 3 days prior to sample collection as it can give a false result

7. Cortisol (Morning & Evening Sample): As the tests is affected by diurnal variation, overnight fasting is preferred for collecting morning sample. It should be drawn between 7-9 AM. 4 hr fasting is preferred for evening sample. It should be drawn between 3-5 pm. 

8. Plasma Renin Activity: Overnight fasting is recommended. Patient should be ambulatory 2 hours prior to the test. Kindly contact the consulting physician regarding the medication.

 9. Urine Culture sample:

For men – Clean the head of the penis with wet clean cotton. Pull back the foreskin Rinse the cleaned area again with a new wet cotton For women –

• Hold labia apart and clean perineal area from front to back with wet cotton ball
• Remove the lid container
• Begin urinating
• Put the container in the urine stream in between.
• When the container is filled two-third, close the lid container.
• Label it (Name, Date, Test type).
• Give the sample to the collection staff.

  10. 24 hr Urine sample collection:

• Collect the collection bottle from the lab with added preservative
• First morning sample needs to be discarded.
• Collect the samples afterwards till 24 hour( Example 7 am to 7 am).
• Drink liquid as taken regularly and do not drink alcohol.
• Keep the sample refrigerated.

  11. Semen Collection: 3- 5 days abstinence is recommended.

Sample needs to be collected in a sterile container.
Onsite collection is recommended. However if you want to collect the sample outside, kindly send the sample to lab within 30 minutes. Sample should not be exposed to heat.
Variation in the report can be present. Retest is generally recommended.  

12. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC): In these tests, cells are aspirated from the lump or swelling present on the body. Both Direct FNAC or Image guided FNAC can be done. Type of FNAC to be done is decided by the Pathologist after examining the patients.

No local Anaesthesia is needed. Most people do not feel any pain during the procedure.
At times there can be mild swelling, pain or haemoatoma at the site of FNAC. Cold compresses can be given afterward to reduce it.

13. Reporting time can be confirmed by the collection staff.

14. Online reports are also available.

15 . Kindly bring consulting doctor’s prescription with previous history and tests reports which are stored at our system and are helpful in correlating reports.

16. You can discuss the reports telephonically or personally with Doctor if needed.