Preferred Sample Type
Suitable Specimen Types
Plain Spot Urine 24 Hour Urine PlainCreatinine (Urine)
Specimen Volume
24 hour urine collection or random collection (minimum sample volume 500 uL)Sample Preparation
Usual
Turnaround Time
1 daySample Processing In Laboratory
UsualSample Stability
Samples are stable for seven days at 4 ºC, freeze samples at -20 ºC for long term storage.General Information
Creatinine is a non-protein waste product of creatine phosphate metabolism by skeletal muscle tissue. Creatinine production is continuous and is proportional to muscle mass. Serum creatinine concentrations are used in the determination of creatinine clearance (an indicator of GFR) and estimation of the GFR utilising the 4 variable MDRD equation. Each of these derived figures can then be used to both identify and monitor chronic kidney disease. Determination of urine creatinine is useful in:
- The measurement of creatinine clearance which also requires measurement of creatinine in serum. (Requires 24 hour urine collection)
- Determination of the albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) in testing for microalbuminuria (requires plain spot urine)
- To compensate for variations in urine concentration in spot-check and 24 hour samples, it is helpful to compare the amount of the analyte of interest to its concentration of creatinine
Patient Preparation
None
Notes
Estimation of creatinine clearance requires a 24 hour urine sample and paired serum creatinine sample.
Reference Range
Male: 9.0-18.0 mmol/24hrs
Female: 7.0-16.0 mmol/24hrs
Specifications
- EQA Status: NEQAS
- EQAS Scheme: Yes