Albuminuria: preanalytical and analytical considerations

Albuminuria (AU) was defined as a persistent and subclinical increase in urinary excretion of albumin. The values that define this condition are higher albuminuria 30 mg/g creatininuria. It is a marker of kidney damage, kidney disease progression and cardiovascular risk. This analyte has a high biological variability and multiple conditions can affect the determination and invalidate the test, which justifies the need to get two positive specimens over a period of 3-6 months to confirm the presence of albuminuria. The first morning urine specimen is best suited for screening and monitoring albuminuria, expressing the results as albuminuria/creatininuria ratio (RAC) (mg/mmol, mg/g). The value of creatininuria in the RAC denominator depends on the individual muscle mass and may underestimate or overestimate the value of urinary albumin, so this aspect is under review. Freshly voided urine is the best example to measure the analyte, but it can be kept in the refrigerator one week or longer, at -80 degrees C. Immunoassays are the most commonly used methods to measure albuminuria, but the lack of standardization which is a process under development is today an important source of bias between the different methods. Analytical improvement and consensus on total errors and imprecision are essential to optimize the measurement of this analyte.