Uric Acid, 24 hour Urine
Uric Acid, 24 hour UrineUpdated May 21 2008
    
Number
003418
CPT
84560
Related Information
  • Urine Testing: Preservative Quick Reference Chart
  • Special Instructions
    State urine volume on the request form.
    SpecimenSpecimen - Updated May 21 2008
    Urine (24-hour)
    Volume
    10 mL aliquot of entire collection
    Minimum Volume
    1 mL aliquot
    Container
    Plastic urine container, no preservative
    Collection
    Mix well.
    Storage Instructions
    Maintain specimen at room temperature.
    Patient Preparation
    Standard diet 24 hours prior to collection
    Causes for Rejection
    Improper labeling; use of preservative
    Reference Interval
    250-750 mg/24 hours
    Use
    Look for hyperuricosuria in patients with renal calculus formation. Identification of overexcretors re: risks of stone formation, identification of genetic defects, influence of overexcretion on therapy of gout. Uric acid nephrolithiasis occurs in primary gout or in secondary hyperuricemia (eg, malignant diseases). Uric acid nephrolithiasis may complicate ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, and surgical jejunoileal bypass. Most subjects with uric acid stones do not have gout.1 Evaluate uric acid metabolism in gout.
    Methodology
    Uricase
    Additional Information
    Even mild renal failure decreases uric acid excretion. Uric acid excretion is decreased with hypertension.

    A young patient with acute gouty arthritis, uric acid stones, and any patient who excretes >1000 mg uric acid/24 hours, should be evaluated for HPRT deficiency.2 The uric acid:creatinine ratio has been used as a test for Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (HPRTase deficiency). Normal control patients 0.21-0.59; partial enzyme deficient group 0.62-2.00; complete enzyme deficiency 1.98-5.35.3

    The ratio of uric acid:creatinine in morning samples of urine has been used as a test for detection of the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, which is associated with virtually complete absence of activity of the enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. This ratio has also been applied to 24-hour urine samples from adult patients with gout for detection of partial deficiency of the same enzyme. The uric acid:creatinine ratio in the urine of normal control patients is reported to range from 0.21-0.59. Patients with gout exhibit ratios of 0.15-0.73, whereas those patients with hyperuricemia associated with another disorder such as leukemia or glycogen-storage disease have ratios of 0.25-1.77. The ratio is 0.27-0.58 for patients with nongouty arthritis. Patients with complete hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency are reported to have urinary uric acid:creatinine ratios of 1.98-5.35, as compared to 0.62-2.00 for patients with gout accompanied by partial enzyme deficiency.

    The ratio of uric acid:creatinine concentration on a random urine specimen has also been shown to be >1.0 in patients with acute renal failure secondary to acute uric acid nephropathy, but <1.0 in patients with acute renal failure resulting from other causes.

    Footnotes
    1. Pak CY, “Renal Calculi,” Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 18th ed, Volume 1, Wyngaarden JB and Smith LH Jr, eds, Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders Co, 1988, 638-44.
    2. Wilson JM, Young AB, and Kelley WN, “Hypoxanthine-Guanine Phosphoribosyltransferase Deficiency. The Molecular Basis of the Clinical Syndromes,” N Engl J Med, 1983, 309(15):900-10 (review).
    3. Pesce AJ and Kaplan LA, Methods in Clinical Chemistry, St Louis, MO: Mosby-Year Book Inc, 1987, 32

    Copyright © 2007 by Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings and Lexi-Comp Inc. All Rights Reserved