Urinary microprotein (urine microalbumin/proteinuria) test

What is the urine microalbumin (albumin) test?

The urine microalbumin test is a screening test for the determination of proteins in urine. There is a protein in the human blood called albumin. Under normal circumstances, it is almost impossible to detect in urine. Only in the case of kidney damage, especially in the early stage of injury, it can be detected in urine in preference to other markers of kidney damage. Therefore, urinary microalbumin is of great significance in diagnosing kidney disease and early kidney damage.

What is the purpose of this test?

Protein is the basic "material" of the human body. It has some important functions and functions. It can be transported to various tissues in combination with nutrients, and the amount of body fluid circulating in the human body is maintained at an appropriate level. When the kidneys function normally, the protein can hardly enter the urine through the kidneys (only the waste generated by the blood circulation is discharged). However, if a person's kidney function is impaired or depleted, the kidney's ability to filter proteins will decrease, so some proteins will appear in the urine through the kidneys, called microalbuminuria .

What is the difference between urinary microalbumin and proteinuria?

Albumin is a typical protein found in large amounts in the blood. Because of its small size, albumin is one of several proteins that can take the lead into the urine through the kidneys when there is a problem with kidney function. A small amount of albumin in the urine is called microalbuminuria. If the kidney function is severely impaired, the amount of albumin in the urine shows an increasing trend, and this symptom is called proteinuria.

What are the symptoms of urinary albumin/proteinuria?

In the early stages of the disease, there are no obvious symptoms or signs. As kidney failure worsens, a large amount of protein appears in the urine, and swelling may occur in the hands, feet, abdomen, and face. If proteinuria is exacerbated, permanent kidney damage may result, and some patients may require dialysis or kidney transplantation. Regardless of the presence of these symptoms, urine protein determination is the only way to determine how much protein enters the urine.

Proteinuria may also cause cardiovascular disease. In addition to causing kidney disease, vascular damage can also cause asphyxia and heart failure.

What are the high-risk groups suffering from proteinuria?

Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and other types of kidney diseases are prone to proteinuria. Older people, obese people, and people with a family history of kidney disease. Other high-risk groups include African Americans , American Indians, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders.

How to detect urine microalbumin/proteinuria in urine?

First you need to provide a urine sample to your doctor. The doctor will determine whether the patient is randomly sampled at the time of medical treatment, or if it is necessary to take samples over a certain period of time (eg 4 hours, overnight or 24 hours, etc.). In any case, the doctor will provide the patient with a urine sample cup and instructions for proper urine collection. The hospital then tests the urine samples to determine the protein or albumin content. The doctor may ask the patient to have a blood test to rule out other evidence of non-kidney damage (checking for normal discharge from the blood in the presence of normal kidney function).

What does the experimental result say?

If the experimental results are within the following range (generally <30 mg/day), the kidney function is normal. If the result is higher than the reference value, there is a problem with the kidney. If your test results in higher levels of protein or albumin, doctors will usually ask the patient to do another test. If the results of the second test are still higher than the reference value, the doctor will usually ask you to do some additional auxiliary tests to further check your kidney function. When proteinuria is caused by diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure, treatment of these diseases can lower the level of proteinuria or reduce the condition of kidney disease.