What Does Protein In Urine Indicate

How Do Doctors Test Protein In The Urine

Urinalysis, also called a urine test, is the primary way to test the levels of protein in your urine.

Your doctor will request a sample of your urine. They will then test the sample with a dipstick and observe it through a microscope.

Your doctor will let you know when you should collect the urine sample. Find out more about urinalysis.

Abnormally High Level Of Protein In The Urine Could Indicate Kidney Disease

Proteinuria could indicate CKD. Where does protein in the urine come from? The protein is there in the blood. It exists as different types . Your muscles are primarily made of protein. The antibodies that circulate in your system fighting infection are protein. Hence protein is essential, but you normally shouldn’t be peeing it out into the urine.

What If Proteinuria Is Present Without Inflammation Or Bleeding

If proteinuria is present and there is no sign of inflammation or bleeding, then serious kidney disease may exist. The best test to determine the severity of the problem is the urine protein:creatinine ratio . A protein:creatinine ratio that remains persistently high is a reliable indicator of serious kidney disease and possibly kidney failure. Further investigation is recommended and could include doing blood tests to assess kidney function, testing for bacterial infection or infectious disease, performing an ultrasound of the kidneys and possibly doing a kidney biopsy. Once a diagnosis has been made, effective management of the problem may be possible.

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What Are The Symptoms Of Proteinuria

Most of the time, proteinuria has no symptoms as most people have low levels of protein in the urine. In these cases, its only detected during a routine screening for something else for example, we always dip the urine of pregnant women, so it would be detected on this test.

If protein loss is heavy, however, the urine can have a foamy or frothy appearance. If it is really heavy, it can affect the way you hold fluid in your tissues, resulting in oedema which is associated with a puffy face and eyes and swollen ankles.

Detecting And Quantifying Proteinuria

The results are graded as negative , trace , 1+ , 2+ , 3+ or 4+ . This method preferentially detects albumin and is less sensitive to globulins or parts of globulins .12

The sulfosalicylic acid turbidity test qualitatively screens for proteinuria. The advantage of this easily performed test is its greater sensitivity for proteins such as Bence Jones. The SSA method requires a few milliliters of freshly voided, centrifuged urine. An equal amount of 3 percent SSA is added to that specimen. Turbidity will result from protein concentrations as low as 4 mg per dL . False-positive results can occur when a patient is taking penicillin or sulfonamides and within three days after the administration of radiographic dyes. A false-negative result occurs with highly buffered alkaline urine or a dilute specimen.

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Causes Of Protein In The Urine

Your kidneys, when working properly, filter waste products from your blood. They return protein and other materials that your body needs to function.

Some conditions and diseases can cause the level ofprotein in your urine to rise. Short term conditions that cause protein in the urine can include strenuous exercise, fever, heat or cold exposure and emotional distress. Long term conditions and diseases that can lead to protein in the urine include high blood pressure, kidney infection or disease, heart disease, diabetes, lupus and malaria.If a urine test reveals protein in your urine, your doctor may recommendfurther testing to determine the cause. Test may include a 24-hour urine collection to determine whether the protein in your urine is cause for concern. Your doctor may also follow up with an ultrasound or CT scan to look for issues like kidney stones or a biopsy to see what has caused damage to your kidneys.

Protein In Urine Treatment

Proteinuria a sign of another illness. So treatment depends on figuring out what caused it. You might not need treatment if proteinuria is mild or lasts only a short time. But itâs crucial to treat kidney disease before it leads to kidney failure.

Your doctor might prescribe medication, especially if you have diabetes and/or high blood pressure. Most people will take one of two types of blood pressure medicine:

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When Is A Upcr Test Performed

Your provider orders this test to look for high levels of protein in your urine, a condition called proteinuria. It’s a symptom of kidney disease.

You may get a UPCR:

• At a routine physical examination to screen for proteinuria.
• During pregnancy, if you have signs of preeclampsia.

You may get a UPCR to diagnose or monitor kidney damage and kidney disease/chronic kidney disease if you have signs or symptoms of these conditions .

How Does A Urine Protein Creatinine Ratio Test Work

Your kidneys are part of your urinary system. Normally functioning kidneys filter waste from your blood so the waste can leave your body with your pee. Your kidneys also filter some proteins, which are essential building blocks of your body.

Your kidneys send proteins back into your blood so they can do important jobs, like controlling the amount of fluid in your blood and fighting infection. Kidneys that dont work properly have a hard time filtering proteins and sending them back into blood. Instead of getting reabsorbed into your blood, these proteins leak into your urine.

A UPCR test is a type of kidney function test. It detects kidney damage by measuring the amount of protein and creatinine in your urine. A UPCR test is accurate because it measures these two substances with one urine sample.

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When To Get Tested

As part of a routine physical, often as part of a urinalysis urine total protein and urine protein to creatinine ratio have traditionally been used as important indicators of kidney disease and as a follow-up testing for monitoring the disease. However, albumin to creatinine ratio is now the preferred testing for these purposes.

UPCR should still be requested to identify preeclampsia in pregnant women and where the excess urine total protein is suspected to be other than albumin.

How Long Do Marijuana Alcohol And Other Substances Stay In Urine

Urine drug testing is often performed to test the presence of illegal, mind-altering, or performance-enhancing substances in the urine of employees, athletes, or people on probation or parole. How long a substance can be detected in your urine can depend on a number of factors:

• The composition of the drug
• How frequently you use it
• How much you use/ingest
• Health condition of user
• Quality of urine drug test

A typical urine drug test can detect alcohol roughly 12 to 36 hours in urine after it is consumed, and more advanced urine tests can detect alcohol as long as three days after your last drink.

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What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Proteinuria

You may not have any symptoms in the early stages of proteinuria. In advanced stages of proteinuria, symptoms may include:

• Swelling in your face, belly, feet or ankles.
• More frequent urination.

• Congestive heart failure.

What level of proteinuria is concerning?

A normal amount of protein in your pee is less than 150 milligrams per day. If you have more than 150 milligrams of protein in your pee per day, you have proteinuria. The upper limit of normal can vary a bit between laboratories.

If you have 3 to 3.5 grams of protein in your pee per day, you have nephrotic-range proteinuria. Nephrotic syndrome is a relatively rare condition that causes your kidneys to release an excessive amount of protein in your pee.

What Causes Protein In The Urine

Healthy kidneys remove extra fluid and waste from your blood and transform it into urine. Healthy kidneys do not remove proteins and other important nutrients, which pass through and return to your blood. But when your kidneys are damaged, they may let this protein leak into your urine. This causes high levels of protein in your urine.

Anyone can have protein in their urine. You may be more likely to have protein in your urine if you have one or more of the risk factors for kidney disease. There are health problems that can cause long-lasting protein in the urine, and some that can cause short-term protein in the urine.

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Definitions And Measurement Methods

Macroscopic hematuria is characterized by the presence of blood in the urine in sufficient quantity to be visible to the naked eye. Grossly bloody urine may appear pink or red but may also be tea-colored or dark cola-colored with glomerular etiologies. As little as 1 mL of blood per liter of urine can induce a visible color change, and as little as 2 to 3 RBCs per high-power field can make the urine dipstick positive. To our knowledge, there are no published data that correlate the number of urine sediment RBCs with the dipstick result 03+.

On the other hand, microscopic hematuria is hematuria in the absence of visible color change in the urine, detected only by urine dipstick and confirmed by microscopic examination of the spun urine sediment. The definition of microscopic hematuria varies from 1 to 10 RBC/HPF however, based on previous studies in schoolaged children, we define microscopic hematuria as greater than 5 RBC/mm3 in uncentrifuged urine or greater than 5 RBCs/HPF in centrifuged urine on at least 2 to 3 different occasions. Microscopic hematuria that might undergo further evaluation should be independent of trauma, exercise, menstruation, or sexual activity .

Approach to a child with microscopic hematuria. Caution items warrant urgent consultation with a nephrologist. AKI=acute kidney injury BP=blood pressure BUN=blood urea nitrogen CKD= chronic kidney disease Cr=creatinine ESRD=end-stage renal disease HTN=hypertension UA=urinalysis.

Symptoms Of Protein In The Urine During Pregnancy

When you have protein in urine during pregnancy, you will not see many symptoms unless you face a UTI. But conditions like Preeclampsia come with different symptoms worth noting down. The main part of it is an excessive protein in the urine. Here are some signs you should look for

• Retaining more water than usual.
• Increased blood pressure.

• Lowered urine output.
• Shortness of breath.

It is common to gain some weight during pregnancy. However, you may also gain more weight due to the swelling in the face and the hands.

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How Is The Test Used

Urine protein testing is used to detect excess protein in the urine . A semi-quantitative test such as a dipstick urine protein may be used to screen for the presence of protein in the urine as part of a routine urinalysis.

A urine protein test may be used to screen for, help evaluate, and monitor kidney function and to help detect and diagnose early kidney damage and/or disease. However, the test can also help screen for several other conditions that can cause proteinuria.

If slight to moderate amounts of protein are detected, then a repeat urinalysis and dipstick protein may be performed at a later time to see if there is still protein in the urine or if it has become undetectable.

If there is a large amount of protein in the first sample, repeat testing will be ordered. If increased levels of urine protein are observed in follow-up specimens, then a 24-hour urine protein may be ordered along with certain blood tests. Since the dipstick method primarily measures the protein albumin, and if follow-up, repeat urine samples are positive, a 24-hour urine test also may be ordered to obtain more detailed information.

Either a 24-hour urine protein or a random protein to creatinine ratio may be used to monitor a person with known kidney disease or damage. A dipstick urine protein and/or a protein to creatinine ratio may be used to screen people on a regular basis when they are taking a medication that may affect their kidney function.

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Diabetes and hypertension are the top causes of kidney disease, so if you have these conditions, your treatment will include getting these under control. For diabetics, this can include managing blood sugar, taking medication, eating healthy, and exercising.

For people with hypertension, doctors may recommend medication as well as diet and lifestyle changes. People with hypertension and proteinuria are also advised that they should keep their blood pressure below 130/80 millimeters of mercury .

People with diabetes and kidney disease or hypertension and kidney disease are often prescribed medications, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers . These medications may also be prescribed to people with kidney disease who do not have diabetes or hypertension.

If kidney damage is permanent, patients may also require dialysis or a kidney transplant.

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Protein In Urine Diagnosis

A urine test called a urinalysis can tell whether you have too much protein in your pee. First, youâll pee into a cup. A lab technician will dip in a stick with chemicals on the end. If the stick changes color, itâs a sign of too much protein. You might need to have this test more than once to find out how long the protein is there.

The technician will also look at the pee under a microscope. Theyâre checking for things that shouldnât be there, which might mean kidney problems. These include red and white blood cells, crystals, and bacteria.

If your doctor suspects kidney disease, you might need to have other urine tests. Your doctor might also order:

• Blood tests. These measure certain chemicals to check how well your kidneys are working.
• Imaging tests. CT scans and ultrasounds can spot kidney stones, tumors, or other blockages.
• A kidney biopsy. Your doctor might need to take a small sample of kidney tissue so a lab technician can look at it under a microscope.

Symptoms Of Protein In Urine During Pregnancy

Unless you are dealing with a urinary tract infection, most of the time that you have protein in your urine during pregnancy, you will not have many obvious symptoms. However, if you are experiencing preeclampsia, you may have some noticeable symptoms, along with an elevated amount of protein in your urine.

Early signs of preeclampsia may include retaining more water than usual, increased blood pressure, along with protein in your urine. You may notice rapid weight gain along with swelling. Other signs of preeclampsia may progress to headaches, blurry vision, stomach pain concentrated on your right side, dark spots in your vision, and shortness of breath.

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Does This Mean I Have An Underlying Condition Thats Causing Proteinuria

Normally, yes. It is abnormal to have protein in your urine so if tests reveal this is the case, it would make us look for a problem in your kidneys.

There can be a wide range of problems which make your kidneys leak protein, such as kidney stones, a disease of the glomeruli or chronic kidney disease to name a few. Other conditions can affect the function of your kidneys, leading to proteinuria such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Proteinuria: What Does Protein In The Urine Mean And How Is It Tested

Proteins serve many functions in the body, but when proteins escape into urine, it can be a sign of potential kidney problems.

Its normal to have a small amount of protein in your urine, and temporarily higher levels can be caused by exercise, dehydration, stress, fever, or cold temperatures.

If high levels of protein are detected multiple times, you may have kidney disease. People with diabetes and hypertension have a higher risk of developing kidney disease, so their urine may be analyzed regularly via urinalysis.

Protein in urine can also be a sign of preeclampsia in pregnant women.

If kidney disease is caused by hypertension or diabetes, treatment will involve getting these medical conditions controlled and monitored. Treatment may also include lifestyle changes and prescription medication, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers .

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Why Might This Test Be Ordered

Proteins are the “building blocks” of the body that also perform other vital functions such as:

• Nourishing tissues.
• Transporting hormones, vitamins and other essential nutrients.
• Keeping the proper amount of fluids circulating through the body.

When the kidneys are healthy, virtually no proteins pass out of the kidneys and into the urine . However, if a person’s kidneys become diseased or damaged, they are less able to leave the proteins behind, and some proteins begin to filter through and appear in the urine.

How Is Proteinuria Tested

To diagnose proteinuria, the initial step is to carry out a urine dipstick test to measure the quantity of protein in the urine. After you provide a urine sample, a dipstick made with a colour-sensitive pad is used to identify the level of protein in your urine. Sometimes, we may need to know which type of protein is in your urine, which would involve a further test.

You will need to see someone who can work through the diagnostic pathway. As there can be many causes of proteinuria, you may need to take akidney biopsy to make a specific diagnosis.

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