Is urinary density an adequate predictor of urinary osmolality?

Urinary density (UD) has been routinely used for decades as a surrogate marker for urine osmolality (Uosm). We asked if UD can accurately estimate Uosm both in healthy subjects and in different clinical scenarios of kidney disease.

UD was assessed by refractometry. Uosm was measured by freezing point depression in spot urines obtained from healthy volunteers (N = 97) and in 319 inpatients with acute kidney injury (N = 95), primary glomerulophaties (N = 118) or chronic kidney disease (N = 106).

UD and Uosm correlated in all groups (p < 0.05). However, a wide range of Uosm values was associated with each UD value. When UD was ≤ 1.010, 28.4% of samples had Uosm above 350 mOsm/kg. Conversely, in 61.6% of samples with UD above 1.020, Uosm was below 600 mOsm/kg. As expected, Uosm exhibited a strong relationship with serum creatinine (Screat), whereas a much weaker correlation was found between UD and Screat.

We found that UD is not a substitute for Uosm. Although UD was significantly correlated with Uosm, the wide dispersion makes it impossible to use UD as a dependable clinical estimate of Uosm. Evaluation of the renal concentrating ability should be based on direct determination of Uosm.