[Urinary protein to creatinine ratio and urinary sediments are useful for the screening of chronic kidney disease].

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is an important risk factor of the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). In this study, we investigated whether the protein to creatinine ratio (the ratio of P/C) determined by the semiquantitative urinary stick test and urinary sediments are useful for the early detection of CKD. One hundred sixty patients were classified to four or five groups by P/C ratio and various biochemical markers were analyzed. As a result, the 300 mg/g x Cr of P/C group showed a significantly increased serum cystatin C level. The positive rate of the P/C ratio in CKD stage was significantly increased compared with the conventional protein qualitative analysis. Further, the amounts of urinary sediments in CKD stage 1 to 2 were increased, such as hyaline cast, and pathological casts were increased in CKD stage 3 to 5. Thus, our present study suggests that the ratio of P/C and urinary sediments are useful for the screening of CKD.