[How do we set the standard value of serum uric acid levels?]

In most medical facilities in Japan, either uricase-catalase or uricase-peroxidase method has been adopted as a sensitive determination of serum uric acid concentration. However, the values obtained from the same patients at different time points are often variable with those methods. Accelerated generation of uric acid and impaired excretion in the kidney are promoted by several dietary factors, such as foods with higher content of sugars (fructose and xylitol), fat and purine bases, and by alcohol consumption, starvation and dehydration. In contrast, hyperglycemia and excess salt ingestion are conductive to accelerate urate excretion. Physicians should notice representative factors fluctuating serum uric acid levels as described above.