How to manage microalbuminuria?
Professor in Endocrinology,
Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow
Q: How can microalbuminuria be kept under control in a diabetic patient? What are the alerting values and symptoms of microalbuminuria? What are the normal values of microalbuminuria for an adult above 50 years of age? What are the causes which contribute to atherosclerosis and how can we detect it?
A:There are no symptoms of microalbuminuria. It can only be detected by tesing spot or timed collections of urine. The values for microalbuminuria are 20ug/min and 200 ug/min or 20 mg and 200 mg/24 hours. Microalbuminuria should be screened anually. If abnormal, it should be confirmed by retesting 3 times-at least 2 of the 3 samples need to be elevated for the diagnosis to be made. Microalbuminuria is the most important test to detect diabetic kidney disease at an early and treatable state.