B3. What are the three methods for detecting urine protein ?
Original author: Dr. Chen Zhou Shanghai Changhai Hospital
Keywords: proteinuria, urine protein, urine routine, 24-hour urine protein quantitative
Applicable population: general population, kidney disease patients
Rating: Getting started core reading
Want to understand and track how much proteinuria you have. Currently there are 3 main methods:
1. Urine routine : Urine routine mainly depends on the protein item. It is a qualitative examination that can determine whether there is proteinuria in the urine. The number of + signs roughly represents the amount of proteinuria. For example:
- -/negative means no proteinuria
- +- It means uncertain
- + prompts proteinuria
- ++ prompts a small amount of proteinuria
- ++/++++ suggests a lot of proteinuria
2.4-hour urine protein quantification :
4-hour urine protein quantitative is the gold standard for measuring protein excretion. Its advantages are reliable and accurate, but its disadvantage is that it is too troublesome to collect, so it is very necessary to learn how to collect it.
24 hours urine specimens, how to keep them?
When doing 24-hour urinary biochemical or 24-hour urinary protein quantification, you need to accurately keep 24-hour urine samples. Pay attention to keeping urine requires "removing the head and leaving the tail": For example: Generally, after we get up at 8 a.m., we can excrete the first morning urine after we get up, and then start counting the timing. All urine excreted within 24 hours should be stored in the same clean container. Remember that the urine excreted at 8:00 a.m. the next morning should also be stored.
3. Urine ACR, Urinary PCR: Compared with 24-hour quantitative urine protein examination, ACR (urine albumin/creatinine ratio) and PCR (urine protein/creatinine ratio) are much more convenient. You only need to leave a random urine to evaluate the amount of urine proteinuria. Urinary PCR can be used instead of 24-hour urine protein quantitative examination, and many studies have shown that the two have a good correlation.
For kidney friends with proteinuria, during outpatient follow-up, you can do: urinary routine + 24-hour urine protein quantification; more conveniently, you can do: urinary routine + urinary PCR.
