Everything you need to know about urine analysis| Zyla Health

Sukriti Singh
Zyla Health
Published in
6 min readApr 11, 2024

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During the regular breakdown of creatine phosphate (a substance used as an energy source for muscle contractions), the muscles create creatinine as a waste product.

The kidneys filter creatinine completely, and the amount of creatinine in the blood indicates how well the kidneys are doing their job of eliminating waste from the blood.

On the other hand, albumin is the primary protein present in blood. Tiny filters present in your kidneys prevent these large molecules from being excreted in the urine.

Typically, only a very small amount of albumin will pass the filters. However, higher levels of albumin may enter your urine if your kidneys are injured.

Continue reading the blog to learn more about the relationship between creatinine, microalbumin, and their ratio.

Urine Creatinine: Significance and Importance

Urine creatinine level measures kidney efficiency in removing creatinine from blood. It’s often paired with blood creatinine tests to determine creatinine clearance, crucial for kidney function assessment.

Check out the blog’s next section to learn about the creatinine test, as it is crucial in determining the health of the kidneys.

Creatinine test and significance

A creatinine test determines the body’s creatinine levels through a blood or urine sample. Higher values generally correspond to lower kidney function.

1.Blood creatinine test:

A tiny sample of blood is taken from a vein to measure blood creatinine. The most common method for evaluating renal function is the blood creatinine test.

The kidneys filter creatinine out of the blood, and high blood creatinine levels can be a sign of renal disease or impaired kidney function.

2. Urine creatinine:

Urine is collected over a predetermined length of time for the urine creatinine test. Tests for urine creatinine are frequently combined with tests for blood creatinine to determine creatinine clearance, a measurement of the kidneys’ efficiency in removing creatinine from the blood via urine. This is also known as a creatinine clearance test.

To know about the treatment options for high creatinine do read best treatment for high creatinine.

Having learnt about the creatinine test you might be wondering about the normal levels of urine and blood creatinine. If yes, then continue to read about it in the next section.

Normal values of Urine creatinine and Blood creatinine

Urine creatinine:

Urine creatinine normal ranges

Blood creatinine:

Normal ranges of blood creatinine

Have you recently seen elevated creatinine in your reports? Don’t worry; download the Zyla app or visit zyla.in to speak with our incredible team of medical experts and observe the progress.

After learning about the purpose of the creatinine and creatinine test, let’s move on to the next section to discuss microalbumin.

Importance of Microalbumin

The term “microalbumin” describes a small amount of the protein albumin that is expelled by the kidneys in the urine.

Microalbuminuria is the term used for high amounts of microalbumin in the urine. Microalbuminuria is frequently used as a marker indicating kidney impairment that occurs especially when diabetes and hypertension are present.

Go to the following section to learn about the microalbumin test.

Microalbumin test, its purpose, procedure, and interpretation

The microalbumin test is a diagnostic procedure that measures the level of the protein albumin in urine.

1.Purpose of the test:

The main goal of the microalbumin test is to find abnormal levels of albumin in the urine, as these can be a sign of kidney failure early on. It is crucial for people who are at risk of renal disease, such as those who have high blood pressure or diabetes.

2. The procedure of the test:

When doing a normal urinalysis, a random urine sample is typically taken. The microalbumin level is then determined by measuring the amount of albumin present in the urine.

3. Interpretation of the result:

Increased microalbumin levels could be a sign of microalbuminuria, which would signal early kidney injury.

Having learned about creatinine and microalbumin independently, let’s discuss the meaning of the microalbumin-creatinine ratio test and its implications.

Significance of the microalbumin-creatinine ratio test

In simple terms, the microalbumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) test is the ratio of albumin to creatinine in your urine. This test is often used to monitor people with known kidney diseases or those who are at risk, as well as to evaluate kidney function.

Purpose of the test:

Urine is used to assess the ratio of creatinine to microalbumin. By equating the quantity of microalbumin to the urine’s creatinine content, this ratio offers a uniform evaluation.

2. The procedure of the test

Microalbumin and creatinine levels are measured from a randomly selected urine sample. The concentration of microalbumin in the same sample is then divided by the concentration of creatinine to get the ratio.

3. Interpretation of the test results

Elevated excretion of microalbumin in comparison to creatinine is indicated by a higher microalbumin-to-creatinine ratio, which may be indicative of renal injury or malfunction.

4.Clinical significance:

It’s crucial to regularly check the microalbumin-to-creatinine ratio for timely implementation of intervention and treatment techniques to prevent or slow down the progression of renal disease.

You must be wondering what the normal microalbumin-creatinine ratio test values are. Don’t worry, you’ve come to the correct place, and the answers are in the next section itself.

Download the Zyla app or visit our website zyla.in to speak with our team of highly qualified physicians if your most recent reports indicate an increase in the microalbumin creatinine ratio for prompt intervention.

Normal levels of microalbumin-creatinine ratio test

The ACR test values that can be used to identify early, or significant renal injury are listed below.

Now that you know the test, let’s see whether any individuals are more likely than others to receive an abnormal ratio.

Who is at risk of getting abnormal results from a microalbumin-creatinine ratio test?

Regular kidney disease screenings are recommended for those with the following medical problems:

  1. Diabetes: Diabetic nephropathy can result from long-term damage to the kidneys’ filtering units caused by high blood sugar levels.
  2. Hypertension: Hypertension can harm renal blood vessels leading to renal malfunction.
  3. Family History: People who have a history of kidney disease in their family may be genetically predisposed to the illness.
  4. Cardiovascular Disease: Kidney health can be impacted by conditions that affect the heart and blood arteries.
  5. Smoking: Smoking can accelerate the development of renal disease.

The microalbumin ratio test is essential for preventing kidney damage and early identification, especially in high-risk individuals.

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References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8109505/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279350/

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