What is the Uric Acid Serum Test?

The uric acid serum test detects the amount of uric acid present in your blood or your urine. When your body normally breaks down purine, your body makes uric acid. Purines are synthesized when your cells die. Purines can also be found in many beverages or packaged food items. Most of the time, the uric acid is dissolved into your blood and then it leaves your body through urine. If the uric acid starts building up in the blood, then it will form the shape of needle-like crystals that will start to surround your joints. This condition will then turn into gout. A gout is a form of arthritis in which your joints get affected. Mainly they get inflamed and cause pain. It can also lead the situation towards kidney failure after kidney stones start to develop.

When is a Uric Acid Serum Test performed?

You will have to get the Uric Acid Test if you have the following symptoms or conditions:

1. Ankle, Toes, and knees get affected.
2. Intense pain
3. Swelling
4. Redness
5. Feeling warm
6. If you are undergoing any type of a cancer treatment.

If you have symptoms of kidney stones, like:

1. Pain in lower back, side, groin or back
2. If you are experiencing bloody urine.
3. Frequent urge to urinate
4. Not being able to urinate even when you want to.
5. Excruciating pain or sensation of burning when you want to urinate.
6. Cloudy or bad-smelling urine
7. Nausea
8. Vomiting
9. Fever and chills

When you have all of these signs and symptoms, after getting this test, you have to go visit your doctor.

What does a Uric Acid Serum detect?

Uric Acid Serum test will help you out in detecting the followings:

1. It will help you in diagnosing gout and with a synovial fluid analysis.
2. Some patients who are undergoing a cancer chemotherapy treatment, have to also deal with the decreased uric acid levels because their treatment release large amounts of purines into the blood. This can lead to serious problems like high uric acid levels.
3. You will know if high levels of uric acid are causing kidney stones or not.
4. If you are at the risk of developing gout or not.

What are the benefits of this test?

The main benefit of this test is that it tells you if your uric acid is at borderline or if you are normal.

When should I know the results of this Test?

You will probably get the results of your test within a few hours but it really depends from where you get your test done. You can get this test done at any hospital or also at the laboratory of your choice. Almost a few hours after submitting the sample, you will receive a message that will inform you that you test results are ready. You can either watch them online or pick them up from the laboratory.

Uric Acid Serum Test Results range?

If the range of uric acid is somewhere between 3.5 to 7.2 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) then it is completely normal. If it is higher than that then you are at risk and you will have to consult your doctor.