Determination of uric acid levels in uraemia by enzymatic and colorimetric techniques.

Serum uric acid levels were determined by specific and non-specific methods in uraemia in order to investigate the correlation between non-specific chromogen and serum urea level. The correlation was moderate and the magnitude of the non-specific chromogen was smaller than had been reported previously. The ratio [Formula: see text] urate was found to be 0.85 in both acute and chronic renal failure, a ratio very similar to that previously reported for normal and gouty subjects. In chronic renal failure the true uric acid level is correlated with urea level and there is a suggestion that serum uric acid levels in chronic renal failure are lower for a given urea value than in acute renal failure.