Reasons, Preparation & Procedure For Conducting a Calcium Urine Test

Submitted on March 27, 2012

Calcium urine is the term given to one of the calcium tests. Calcium tests usually mean a blood test but in some cases, calcium in urine may be tested. When it comes to blood calcium tests, such tests are used when your doctor needs help diagnosing specific varieties of ailments or diseases. Calcium urine is particularly useful when looking at disorders related to the kidneys. Such tests examining calcium also have a monitoring function. Furthermore, a broader picture of one’s health is possible when doctors can look at both calcium result and, simultaneously, one’s phosphate result.

Reasons for Calcium Urine Test

Calcium in the urine is helpful when trying to check the amount of calcium that your body is losing on account of kidney secretion. If talking about general health tests, the total calcium test is typically a part of screening. For instance, this test also comes under the band of Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) tests. Urine calcium is typically an additional test called for in cases where a general screening indicates abnormal calcium values. This is because, in total calcium test, values which do not fall under the normal range, could point towards some other condition or disease. At the same time, one has to bear in mind that total calcium test may not be the best solution when it comes to some people. This is because such people have a disturbed balance between the two variants of calcium – namely bound and free calcium. Low calcium levels are typically seen in cases where the patient is suffering from the serious problem of kidney failure.

Preparation

Check with your doctor about preparation for calcium urine such as the list of drugs that have to be abstained from.

Procedure

Calcium urine test is not typically used since a calcium test normally implies a blood test. With a calcium urine test, the needed urine is collected over the course of an entire day. This will subsequently be checked for calcium content. With the blood test, the sum total of calcium to be found in one’s blood is evaluated. However, there are times when a urine calcium test may be called for. This is because this particular test will let us know the level of calcium that is eliminated by way of one’s kidneys. As a result, doctors can see if the patient’s kidneys are functioning normally by excreting the usual or normal quantities of calcium.

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