<p>*PERSISTENT ALBUMINURIA CATEGORIES</p>
<p>&lt;3 mg/mmol - Normal to mildly increased</p>
<p>3-30 mg/mmol - Moderately increased</p>
<p>&gt;30 mg/mmol - Severely increased</p>
<p>Microalbuminuria is an important clinical marker in patients with diabetes because of its well-established association with progressive renal disease. It is also becoming increasingly recognized as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in patients with hypertension and diabetes, and in the general population. Because of the inherent day-to-day variability of albumin excretion into the urine, The American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation recommend two of three microalbumin levels measured within a 3- to 6-months period should be abnormal before considering a patient to have crossed a diagnostic threshold. Physical exercise during the previous 24 hours can cause a transient elevation in microalbumin. Other variables, including infection, fever, congestive heart failure, marked hyperglycemia, marked hypertension, pyuria and hematuria can result in increased microalbumin levels. Certain drugs such as ASPIRIN, CORTICOSTEROIDS and some ANTIBIOTICS (such as Amoxicillin) may affect the test results and should be interpreted in conjunction with other laboratory parameters and clinical findings.</p>
<p>* Adopted from 2012 Kidney Disease, Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease.</p>