Calcium (Urine) Test

Calcium is one of the most common minerals in the body. All cells throughout the body use calcium for various functions. The body uses calcium to build and repair bones and teeth. Calcium also helps nerves, the heart, and muscles function properly, and helps blood to clot.

A urinalysis is a test of your urine. A urinalysis is used to detect and manage a wide range of disorders, such as urinary tract infections, kidney disease and diabetes.

A urinalysis involves checking the appearance, concentration and content of urine. Abnormal urinalysis results may point to a disease or illness.

Also Known as:  Urine Test, Urine Analysis , Urine CE, Urine C/E, UCE, Urinalysis

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Test Panel: Physical properties, Chemical Tests, Dipstick Tests, Microscopic Examination

Type of urine samples:

• Random sample:
  This is a diluted urine sample and may give an inaccurate interpretation of patient health. But is best to do microscopy to evaluate WBC or RBC.
• First Morning sample:
  This is the best sample for microscopy and urine analysis. This is the concentrated urine because of urine remained throughout the night in the urinary bladder. This will contains an increased concentration of analytes and cellular elements. Urine must have remained in the bladder for 8 hours is considered as the first-morning sample.
• Urine for sugar (Postprandial 2 hours):
  Postprandial 2 hours sample collected after 2 hours of high carbohydrate diet. 
• Midstream clean catch urine:
  This sample is needed for the culture and sensitivity of urinary infection. The patient is advised to clean the urethra, then discard the first few mL of urine. Now midstream of the urine is collected in the sterile container.
• 24 Hours of a urine sample
  • In this case, discard the first urine and note the time.
  • Now collect urine in the container for 24 hours and put the last sample in the container.
  • Refrigerate the sample.
  • This 24 hours samples are needed for measuring urea, creatinine, sodium, potassium, glucose, and catecholamines.
• Suprapubic collection of the urine sample:
  This is done in the patients who cannot be catheterized and the sample is needed for culture. This sample is collected by the needle.
• Catheter collection of urine:
  This is done by patients who are bedridden and can not urinate.
• Pediatric urine sample:
  In infants, special collection bags are made adherent around the urethra. Then urine is transferred to a container.

Urine Calcium

Calcium is one of the most common minerals in the body. All cells throughout the body use calcium for various functions. The body uses calcium to build and repair bones and teeth. Calcium also helps nerves, the heart, and muscles function properly, and helps blood to clot.

Why Get Tested:

Reasons to perform a urine calcium test include:

• evaluating whether high calcium levels in the urine resulted in the development of a kidney stone
• evaluating whether your dietary intake of calcium is high enough
• evaluating how well your intestines are absorbing calcium
• detecting conditions that lead to calcium loss from your bones
• evaluating how well your kidneys are functioning
• looking for problems with the parathyroid gland

Sample Required:

• 24 hours urine is collected in the acid wash bottle.
  • Add 10 to 20 mL of 6M HCl.
• 1 to 2 mL of a random urine sample can also be evaluated.
• Refrigerate the urine during collection.
• Or acidify the urine to pH <2.0 to dissolve the calcium salts.

Precautions for Sample

1. Wash the bottle with dilute HCl and then rinse with water.
2. Avoid contamination with calcium.
3. Don’t use cork because they may contaminate the urine.

Normal Range:

Average Calcium diet is 800 mg/day.

Increased urinary calcium:

1. In hyperparathyroidism.
2. Paget’s diseases.
3. Renal diseases.
4. Sarcoidosis.
5. Breast cancer.
6. Urinary bladder cancers.
7. Multiple Myeloma.
8. Bone metastasis (osteolytic).
9. Vit.D intoxication.
10. Thyrotoxicosis.
11. Osteoporosis.
12. Fanconi’s syndrome.
13. Idiopathic hypercalciuria.
14. Prolonged immobilization.

Decreased urinary calcium:

1. Renal osteodystrophy.
2. Rickets
3. Hypoparathyroidism.
4. Pre-eclampsia.
5. Vit.D deficiency.
6. Metastatic carcinoma of the prostate.
7. Preeclampsia.
8. Acute renal failure, nephritis, and nephrosis.
9. Malabsorption conditions like :
   1. Celiac disease.
   2. Sprue disease.
   3. Steatorrhea.
10. Drugs like Thiazide and oral contraceptives leads to decrease level.

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