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Potassium urine test

Definition

The potassium urine test measures the amount of potassium in the urine.

Alternative Names

Urine potassium

How the Test is Performed

After you provide a urine sample, it is tested in the lab. If needed, the health care provider may ask you to collect your urine at home over 24 hours. Your provider will tell you how to do this. Follow instructions exactly so that the results are accurate.

How to Prepare for the Test

Your provider may ask you to temporarily stop taking any medicines that may affect the test results. Tell your provider about all the medicines you take, including:

  • Corticosteroids
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
  • Potassium supplements
  • Water pills (diuretics)

DO NOT stop taking any medicine before talking to your provider.

How the Test will Feel

This test involves only normal urination. There is no discomfort.

Why the Test is Performed

Your provider may order this test if you have signs of a condition that affects body fluids, such as dehydration, vomiting, or diarrhea.

It may also be done to diagnose or confirm disorders of the kidneys or adrenal glands.

Normal Results

For adults, normal urine potassium values are generally 20 mEq/L in a random urine sample and 25 to 125 mEq per day in a 24 hour collection. Lower or higher urinary level may occur depending on the amount of potassium in your diet and the amount of potassium in your body.

The examples above are common measurements for results of these tests. Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Some labs use different measurements or test different samples. Talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific test results.

What Abnormal Results Mean

A higher than normal urine potassium level may be due to:

  • Diabetic acidosis and other forms of metabolic acidosis
  • Eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia)
  • Kidney problems, such as damage to kidney cells called tubule cells (acute tubular necrosis)
  • Low blood magnesium level (hypomagnesemia)
  • Muscle damage (rhabdomyolysis)

Low urine potassium level may be due to:

  • Certain medicines, including beta blockers, lithium, trimethoprim, potassium-sparing diuretics, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
  • Adrenal glands releasing too little aldosterone (hypoaldosteronism)

Risks

There are no risks with this test.

Gallery

Bladder catheterization - female
A catheter (a hollow tube, often with an inflatable balloon tip) may be inserted into the urinary bladder when there is a urinary obstruction, following surgical procedures to the urethra, in unconscious patients (due to surgical anesthesia, coma, or other reasons), or for any other problem in which the bladder needs to be kept empty (decompressed) and urinary flow assured. The balloon holds the catheter in place for a duration of time.
Bladder catheterization - female
A catheter (a hollow tube, often with an inflatable balloon tip) may be inserted into the urinary bladder when there is a urinary obstruction, following surgical procedures to the urethra, in unconscious patients (due to surgical anesthesia, coma, or other reasons), or for any other problem in which the bladder needs to be kept empty (decompressed) and urinary flow assured. The balloon holds the catheter in place for a duration of time.

References

Kamel KS, Halperin ML. Interpretation of electrolyte and acid-base parameters in blood and urine. In: Yu ASL, Chertow GM, Luyckx VA, Marsden PA, Skorecki K, Taal MW, eds. Brenner and Rector's The Kidney. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 24.

Villeneuve P-M, Bagshaw SM. Assessment of urine biochemistry. In: Ronco C, Bellomo R, Kellum JA, Ricci Z, eds. Critical Care Nephrology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2019:chap 55.

Last reviewed July 23, 2021 by David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team..

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