Interpretations

Microalbuminuria is a reversible condition characterized by increased urinary excretion of albumin in the absence of overt proteinuria. It occurs in diabetic and hypertensive patients and is generally treatable by blood pressure-lowering medications. Using this therapy, progression to an irreversible state of macroalbuminuria can be prevented or delayed for a decade or more. Conventional dipstick and acid precipitation tests for detecting protein in urine lack the sensitivity required to delineate this condition. Dipsticks may yield negative results even when the albumin excretion rate is 10 or 20 times normal.   Nephelometry enables sufficient sensitivity to detect albumin at these levels.