Urate (blood)

Uric acid is the final product of purine metabolism in humans. Asymptomatic hyperuricemia is frequently detected through biochemical screening. The major causes of hyperuricemia are increased purine synthesis, inherited metabolic disorder, excess dietary purine intake, increased nucleic acid turnover, malignancy, cytotoxic drugs, and decreased excretion due to chronic renal failure or increased renal reabsorption. Long term follow-up of these patients is undertaken because many are at risk of renal disease that may develop; few of these patients ever develop the clinical syndrome of gout.

Diagnosis and treatment of renal failure and monitoring patients receiving cytotoxic drugs and a variety of other disorders, including gout, leukaemia, psoriasis, starvation and other wasting conditions Pre-eclampsia screening (impaired renal function) Differential diagnosis of hyponatraemia (eg. urate is low in SIADH)