Specimen Collection

4.5 mL PST Blood (Preferred - effective from 4th Mar 2013)

5 mL Heparin Blood

4 mL Plain Blood

3.5 mL SST Blood

0.5 mL Paediatric Microsample Blood

0.5 mL Paediatric Micro-heparin Blood
Reference Intervals

Units: mg/dL

Conversion factors:

BUN (mg/dL) x 0.357 = urea (mmol/L)
urea (mmol/L) x 2.8 = BUN (mg/dL)

age	BUN (mg/dL)
0 to 1 month	2.8 - 11.2
1 month to 1 y	3.9 - 15.1
1 y - 4 y	5.0 - 15.1
4 y to Adult	9.0 - 21.5

Uncertainty of Measurement: 6%

Turnaround Time: Within 3 hours
Diagnostic Use and Interpretation

Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) is an alternative way of expressing the urea concentration.

It is not used for clinical purposes in New Zealand, but may be required for some clinical trials.

It is a calculated value derived from the urea concentration - see conversion factors above.

Contact Information

Emails to chemicalpathologist@adhb.govt.nz will receive priority attention from the on-call chemical pathologist.

If the query concerns a specific patient please include the NHI number in your email.

If email is not a suitable option, please contact the on-call chemical pathologist via Lablink (Auckland City Hospital ext. 22000 or 09-3078995).

Individual chemical pathologists may be contacted but will not be available at all times.

After-hours : contact Lablink (Auckland City Hospital ext. 22000 or 09-3078995) or hospital operator for on duty staff after hours.

Dr Samarina Musaad (Clinical Lead) : SamarinaM@adhb.govt.nz ext. 22402

Dr Cam Kyle: CampbellK@adhb.govt.nz ext 22052

Dr Weldon Chiu: WeldonC@adhb.govt.nz ext. 23427

Dr Campbell Heron: CHeron@adhb.govt.nz ext. 23427

Dr Sakunthala Jayasinghe: Sakunthala@adhb.govt.nz ext. 23427

Last updated at 15:26:00 06/01/2025