Uric acid

Kidney Function · also called Urate, Serum urate

What it measures

Uric acid is the end-product of purine breakdown and is excreted mainly by the kidneys. It is measured to diagnose and monitor gout, kidney stones, tumour lysis and pre-eclampsia.

Specimen and preparation

Specimen: Serum or lithium-heparin plasma
Tube: Gold top
Preparation: Fasting is preferred. Rasburicase therapy degrades urate in the tube: collect on ice and analyse quickly.

Reference range

Group	Range
Adult male	3.5–7.2 (208–428) mg/dL (µmol/L)
Adult female	2.6–6.0 (155–357) mg/dL (µmol/L)

Reference ranges differ between laboratories, methods and populations. Always use the range printed on your own lab report.

Causes of high values

Gout
Kidney impairment
Tumour lysis syndrome and leukaemia
Thiazide and loop diuretics, low-dose aspirin
Pre-eclampsia
Alcohol and high-purine diet

Causes of low values

Allopurinol or febuxostat therapy
SIADH
Fanconi syndrome
Severe liver disease
Xanthine oxidase deficiency

Method

Enzymatic uricase–peroxidase colorimetric method

Good to know

Levels can be normal during an acute gout attack; the treatment target in gout is below 6 mg/dL.

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