Abstract

Background: Elevated urinary amylase is usually associated with pancreatic disease, but non-pancreatic factors such as fecal contamination can also lead to false elevation.
Methods: The retrospective analysis of a 75-year-old patient with acute cerebral infarction identified fecal contamination as the cause of falsely elevated urinary amylase.
Results: Initial urine test showed amylase > 24,000 U/L, the level of which decreased to 164 U/L after standardized urine collection. Abdominal CT confirmed normal pancreatic morphology and uniform density.
Conclusions: Fecal contamination is the key source of falsely elevated urinary amylase. Strict pre-analytical quality control is the key to preventing laboratory errors.

DOI: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2025.250450