Know How Our iCliniq Doctor Helped a Patient’s Concern About Having Proteinuria

A 47-year-old female patient consulted our iCliniq doctor regarding the presence of protein in the urine. She mentioned that she underwent an annual urinalysis where she drank water and collected a urine sample. She explained that the urine sample she submitted had a small amount of spotting due to her menstrual cycle. The test results showed positive for blood, white blood cells (WBC), and bacteria, while everything else was negative. The specific gravity of the urine was lower than normal. The patient expressed her belief that the positive results for blood and other factors were likely due to menstrual blood. She also raised a concern about the accuracy of protein detection in the somewhat dilute urine sample.

After reviewing the patient's inquiry, our iCliniq doctor confirmed that the presence of blood in her urine was likely caused by menstrual fluid. Additionally, the doctor reassured the patient that drinking water would not affect the levels of protein in her urine. The doctor further explained that if the kidneys were unable to retain the protein, increasing water intake would not alter this situation. Furthermore, the doctor suggested that the patient could provide a morning urine sample or opt for a spot urine protein creatinine ratio test, both of which would provide accurate results to detect any protein leakage in the urine.

The patient reverted and inquired our doctor if a creatinine level of 0.9 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) was considered normal for her age, given that she had never shown signs of proteinuria. She mentioned that the value had risen over the past 3.5 years and she understood that creatinine levels could fluctuate, potentially affecting the eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate). She sought our doctor's expertise to determine the typical range of creatinine fluctuations in healthy individuals. Additionally, she expressed her ongoing concern and asked for our doctor's opinion, as she was unable to alleviate her worries regarding this matter.

Our doctor went through the query and advised the patient not to worry about the creatinine levels and enlightened the patient that the creatinine levels would depend on various things like changes in muscle mass, protein intake, and hydration status and also mentioned that the values would change according to labs. Our doctor advised the patient to avoid the non-vegetarian diet if she had to take a lot of it and replace it with green vegetables and fruits daily. He also advised the patient to drink two liters of water per day. He further added that variations were natural with age between 0.1 to 0.5 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) normally seen. He added that if the patient was really worried she could check her eGFR and then cystatin levels which would be more accurate than creatinine level.

The patient expressed heartfelt gratitude to our doctor for providing assistance and thoughtful responses to her questions, which eased her concerns about proteinuria and creatinine clearance.