Normal Values:

7 - 20 mg/dl. Note that normal values may vary among different laboratories.

What abnormal results mean:

Higher-than-normal levels may be due to:

• Congestive heart failure
• Excessive protein levels
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Hypovolemia
• Heart attack
• Kidney disease, including glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis, and acute tubular necrosis
• Kidney failure
• Shock
• Urinary tract obstruction

Lower-than-normal levels may be due to:

• Liver failure
• Low protein diet
• Malnutrition
• Over-hydration

Additional conditions under which the test may be done include:

• Acute nephritic syndrome
• Alport syndrome
• Atheroembolic kidney disease
• Dementia due to metabolic causes
• Diabetic nephropathy/sclerosis
• Digitalis toxicity
• Epilepsy
• Generalized tonic-clonic seizure
• Goodpasture syndrome
• Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS)
• Hepatokidney syndrome
• Interstitial nephritis
• Lupus nephritis
• Malignant hypertension (arteriolar nephrosclerosis)
• Medullary cystic kidney disease
• Membranoproliferative GN I
• Membranoproliferative GN II
• Type 2 diabetes
• Prerenal azotemia
• Primary amyloidosis
• Secondary systemic amyloidosis
• Wilms' tumor