A random urine specimen is one that is taken at any time of day except for the first void of the morning. If you are healthy, a random urine specimen will have very little protein. This is a desirable result because high urine protein levels are associated with serious chronic conditions.
Urinalysis
Urinalysis includes a number of different tests that measure pH, protein, red blood cells, ketones and creatinine. It is performed using a dipstick, much like pH paper. Alternatively, labs can perform individual tests for each measurement requested. One of the specific laboratory tests for protein is the protein creatinine ratio. The amount of protein and the amount of creatinine are measured and the ratio between the two is calculated. The protein creatinine ratio is considered very reliable because it compensates for the differences in the concentration of the urine.
Results
If your lab uses a dipstick test to measure protein, the normal result is "zero" or "trace." If a protein creatinine ratio test is performed, a normal result for children over age 2 and adults is less than 0.2 g protein per gram of creatinine. There is no such thing as having abnormally low urine protein.
High Urine Protein
High urine protein, or proteinuria, is more of a concern because it is associated with chronic kidney disease. While slightly high results might be attributed to vigorous exercise immediately before the test, consistently high results merit additional follow-up, such as additional blood tests, renal ultrasound or kidney biopsy.
Low Blood Protein
If you kidneys are letting proteins in your blood spill into your urine, it follows that your total blood proteins will be low. If urine protein is very high, enzymes and immune proteins get lost into the urine. The liver tries to compensate by making proteins, including the transport protein for cholesterol. Since cholesterol tests measure the levels of cholesterol transport proteins, people with high urine protein also appear to have high cholesterol.
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