1982 Volume 73 Issue 6 Pages 724-731
A 2-site immunoradiometric assay for urine ferritin was investigated in 285 patients with urogenital diseases.
The results were as follows:
1) The recovery rate of this method obtained 7 urine samples was 97.9±5.05% (mean±S. D.). The intraassay coefficient of variation (C. V.) and interassay C. V. were 9.3 and 11.4% respectively.
2) The highest levels of urine ferritin appeared near 10:00hr., but no clear diurnal rhythm was observed. Quantitative 24hr. urine ferritin collections in 9 subjects did not significantly reduce the variability in urine ferritin levels as compared with random samples and this suggested that random samples were enough for clinical assay. No significant change was observed in urine ferritin levels between bloody or infected urine and clear urine.
3) Serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, serum ferritin had no significant influence on urine ferritin, since no significant relationships were observed between urine ferritin and these serum factors.
4) Urine ferritin levels were less than 30ng/ml in most cases of benign diseases, while they increased remarkably in cases of glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis, and tumors of the upper urinary tract.
These data suggested that the injured renal tubular cells might be the source of urine ferritin.
