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Table of Contents
What Is Uric Acid?
Purpose
Types of Test
Interpretation
A uric acid test can help diagnose gout and determine if uric acid is the cause of your kidney stones. It also helps monitor for abnormal uric acid buildup in people undergoing cancer treatment.
Verywell / Emily Roberts
Uric acid is a waste product that your body makes when it breaks down chemicals called purines. Purines are created when cells in your body die. They also come from the breakdown of purine-rich foods and beverages, such as organ meats, seafood, and beer.
However, if there is too much uric acid in your body—referred to ashyperuricemia—it can start to clump together and form crystals. It is at this point that high uric acid levels can contribute to two common medical conditions:
When a Uric Acid Test Is Needed
A uric acid test may be ordered if you have symptoms or are at risk of gout, kidney stones, TCS, or other kidney problems.
The uric acid test may be used to:
Types of Uric Acid Tests
There are two types of uric acid tests used alone or in combination to detect hyperuricemia:
Both tests are commonly performed together to diagnose gout and kidney stones.For TCS, a uric acid blood test is usually adequate.
Can You Test Uric Acid at Home?There are several over-the-counter uric acid tests that can measure uric acid levels in your urine or blood using a test strip. The rapid urine test strip can tell you roughly how high your levels are based on color changes. The uric acid blood test involves a drop of blood on a test strip which is mailed to a lab for analysis.There are also devices calleduricometersthat can monitor urine uric acid levels at home in people with a history of recurrent gout.
Can You Test Uric Acid at Home?
There are several over-the-counter uric acid tests that can measure uric acid levels in your urine or blood using a test strip. The rapid urine test strip can tell you roughly how high your levels are based on color changes. The uric acid blood test involves a drop of blood on a test strip which is mailed to a lab for analysis.There are also devices calleduricometersthat can monitor urine uric acid levels at home in people with a history of recurrent gout.
There are several over-the-counter uric acid tests that can measure uric acid levels in your urine or blood using a test strip. The rapid urine test strip can tell you roughly how high your levels are based on color changes. The uric acid blood test involves a drop of blood on a test strip which is mailed to a lab for analysis.
There are also devices calleduricometersthat can monitor urine uric acid levels at home in people with a history of recurrent gout.
Interpretation of Results
Hyperuricemia is diagnosed when uric acid levels are higher than the reference range of values (meaning the level at which uric acid levels are considered normal).
The tests are interpreted as follows:
For gout, other tests commonly used for diagnoses include:
For kidney stones, other tests may be ordered to confirm the diagnosis or determine if uric acid is the cause of stone formation, such as:
Summary
A uric acid test involves either a blood test or urine test to detect elevations in uric acid levels, known as hyperuricemia. Hyperuricemia can contribute to gout and kidney stones or lead to tumor lysis syndrome, a complication of chemotherapy and other forms of cancer treatment.
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Uric acid test.American Urological Association.Medical management of kidney stones.Wiederkehr MR, Moe OW.Uric acid nephrolithiasis: a systemic metabolic disorder.Clin Rev Bone Miner Metab. 2011;9(3-4):207–217. doi:10.1007/s12018-011-9106-6Wilson FP, Berns JS.Tumor lysis syndrome: new challenges and recent advances.Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2014;21(1):18–26. doi:10.1053/j.ackd.2013.07.001American Kidney Fund.Tests for gout.Xing X, Yao B, Wu Q, et al.Continual and accurate home monitoring of uric acid in urine samples with uricase-packaged nanoflowers assisted portable electrochemical uricometer.Biosens Bioelectron. 2022 Feb 15:198:113804. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2021.113804National Kidney Foundation.Kidney stones.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.MedlinePlus.Uric acid test.American Urological Association.Medical management of kidney stones.Wiederkehr MR, Moe OW.Uric acid nephrolithiasis: a systemic metabolic disorder.Clin Rev Bone Miner Metab. 2011;9(3-4):207–217. doi:10.1007/s12018-011-9106-6Wilson FP, Berns JS.Tumor lysis syndrome: new challenges and recent advances.Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2014;21(1):18–26. doi:10.1053/j.ackd.2013.07.001American Kidney Fund.Tests for gout.Xing X, Yao B, Wu Q, et al.Continual and accurate home monitoring of uric acid in urine samples with uricase-packaged nanoflowers assisted portable electrochemical uricometer.Biosens Bioelectron. 2022 Feb 15:198:113804. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2021.113804National Kidney Foundation.Kidney stones.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
MedlinePlus.Uric acid test.American Urological Association.Medical management of kidney stones.Wiederkehr MR, Moe OW.Uric acid nephrolithiasis: a systemic metabolic disorder.Clin Rev Bone Miner Metab. 2011;9(3-4):207–217. doi:10.1007/s12018-011-9106-6Wilson FP, Berns JS.Tumor lysis syndrome: new challenges and recent advances.Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2014;21(1):18–26. doi:10.1053/j.ackd.2013.07.001American Kidney Fund.Tests for gout.Xing X, Yao B, Wu Q, et al.Continual and accurate home monitoring of uric acid in urine samples with uricase-packaged nanoflowers assisted portable electrochemical uricometer.Biosens Bioelectron. 2022 Feb 15:198:113804. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2021.113804National Kidney Foundation.Kidney stones.
MedlinePlus.Uric acid test.
American Urological Association.Medical management of kidney stones.
Wiederkehr MR, Moe OW.Uric acid nephrolithiasis: a systemic metabolic disorder.Clin Rev Bone Miner Metab. 2011;9(3-4):207–217. doi:10.1007/s12018-011-9106-6
Wilson FP, Berns JS.Tumor lysis syndrome: new challenges and recent advances.Adv Chronic Kidney Dis. 2014;21(1):18–26. doi:10.1053/j.ackd.2013.07.001
American Kidney Fund.Tests for gout.
Xing X, Yao B, Wu Q, et al.Continual and accurate home monitoring of uric acid in urine samples with uricase-packaged nanoflowers assisted portable electrochemical uricometer.Biosens Bioelectron. 2022 Feb 15:198:113804. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2021.113804
National Kidney Foundation.Kidney stones.
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