Hiroto MASHIBA and Shoji NAKAMOTO To evaluate the incidence and mechanism of hypouricemia ( <2mg), we studied serum uric acid concentrations of 1,220 in - patients and 3,258 out - patients.
Hypouricemia was noted in 2.54% of in - patients and 0.37% of out - patients. All hypouricemia of in - patients, which seemed to be induced by diseases or drugs, were transient and secondary. Idiopathic renal hypouricemia was noted in four cases of the out - patients. One of these patients had a defect of presecretory reabsorption and two had a defect of postsecretory reabsorption and one had an enhanced secretion of uric acid in the renal tubule. In one of the four patients, idiopathic renal hypouricemia was considered to be hereditary and in two, it was associated with urolithiasis.
In conclusion, the incidence of hypouricemia was higher in in - patient than in out patients because there were many secondary hypouricemia in in - patients. And idiopathic renal hypouricemia was often noted in hereditary cases and associated with urolithiasis.
