Test Overview
Test Methodology

PEG Enhanced Immunoturbidometric

Test Usage

Detection of diabetics (and others) at risk for renal failure. Monitoring effectiveness of blood pressure control, glucose control, and/or protein restriction, etc., particularly in early diabetes, in preventing progression to overt proteinuria.

Reference Range *

Urine Microalbumin: 0 - 21 mcg/ml; Urine Microalbumin/Creatinine Ratio: 0 - 30 mg UMA/gm Creatinine. The American Diabetes Association recommends the following ranges as guidelines for the interpretation of the Microalbumin/Creatinine ratio: <30 mg/gm Normal; 30 - 299 mg/gm Microalbuminuria; >=300 mg/gm Clinical Albuminuria.

* Reference ranges may change over time. Please refer to the original patient report when evaluating results.

Test Details
Days Set Up
Daily, 24 hours
Analytic Time

8 hours

Soft Order Code
UMA
MiChart Code
Macroscopic Urinalysis
Synonyms
  • Albumin, Micro
  • Microalbumin/Creatinine Ratio
  • Urinary Albumin Excretion Rate
  • Albumin, Micro
  • MA
  • Microalbumin/Creatinine Ratio
  • UMA
  • Urinary Albumin Excretion Rate
  • UMA/CREAT RATIO
  • CREATU
  • UMA/CR
  • CREATININE URINE RANDOM
  • URINE MICROALBUMIN
Laboratory
Chemical Pathology
Section
Automation
Specimen Requirements
Collection Instructions

Collect first AM void or 24 hour urine specimen with no preservative; random urine is also acceptable. Aliquot a minimum of 1 mL into a screw-cap urine container and refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze for longer storage. Patient should not exercise prior to collection. Specimen should be free of blood or semen. Record appropriate collection information, e.g. Random, First AM, etc. on requisition; measure and record total volume of 24 hour collection.

Contraindications
Urine microalbumin is contraindicated in individuals found to have strongly dipstick positive albumin levels.
Normal Volume
2 mL aliquot of first AM void or random urine collection or 5 mL aliquot of 24 hour urine collection
Minimum Volume
1 mL aliquot of first AM void or random urine collection or 2 mL aliquot of 24 hour urine collection
Rejection Criteria
Specimens collected with Acid Preservative are not acceptable.
Additional Information

Test includes urine microalbumin, urine creatinine, and microalbumin/creatinine ratio. Diabetes mellitus is the largest single cause of kidney failure. Although the exact pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy is incompletely defined, it is now recognized that there are detectable abnormalities in kidney structure and function a decade or more before the appearance of any overt evidence of renal disease. The most significant of these abnormalities is a subtle increase in the urinary albumin excretion rate, known as microalbuminuria. Microalbuminuria is not measurable by conventional techniques for detecting proteinuria. It is believed that microalbuminuria represents a reversible stage of renal dysfunction, whereas overt proteinuria reflects irreversible disease. In fact, by the time kidney disease becomes clinically manifest through the appearance of persistent overt proteinuria, the renal lesions are relatively far advanced and renal function progressively and inexorably deteriorates. Proteinuria typically appears about twenty years after the onset of diabetes, whereas microalbuminuria can be detected within the first ten years. Microalbuminuria has been established as a marker predictive of subsequent development of diabetic nephropathy. Periodic monitoring (2-3 times/year) of urine albumin levels in the diabetic patient is therefore recommended so that the initial escalation of renal damage can be detected and appropriate treatment regimens can be instituted.

Billing
CPT Code
82043
Fee Code
30968
LOINC
34535-5