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Along with estimated GFR, urine albumin
measurement and reporting is critical to the early detection and
treatment of chronic kidney disease. Issues with the standardization of
urine albumin measurement and reporting exist, making it difficult for
providers to effectively use test results to inform treatment decisions
and monitor patients’ kidney health.
Among these issues are:
- A variety of test options (albumin, albumin-to-creatinine ratio, etc.)
- Confusion about type of urine sample to collect (random, timed, overnight, or 24-hour)
- Nonstandardized urine albumin measurement procedures and lack of an international reference material
- Nonstandardized reporting units
- Arbitrary single cut-off value (30 mg/g) vs. specific cut-off values for gender, race, and age
To begin addressing urine albumin
measurement and reporting issues, NKDEP and the International
Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine convened a
group of international experts in March 2007. They began framing the
issues associated with the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio measurement
and developing a plan to improve harmonization and standardization of
the test. Read the minutes[PDF (206K)] to learn more about the details of this meeting.
NKDEP, IFCC, and meeting participants are
currently working to address agreed upon priorities. They also have
written a manuscript outlining the issues and a proposed research
agenda. Subscribe to the Laboratory Professionals eUpdates for current activities and publication of the manuscript.
*PDF files require Adobe Acrobat
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