Diagnosis | Urea reduced

Diagnosis

The determination of a lowered urea value is usually carried out rather randomly during blood tests and does not require further tests in healthy adults. If there is a suspicion of one of the more serious causes of this depression, further examinations can be carried out. For example, if there is a suspicion of liver damage, an ultrasound image of the liver is taken and the patient is asked precisely about a possible origin of the damage.

A test for hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) can also be performed. If there is a suspicion of a defect in the urea cycle, the questioning of the patient is also very important here. In addition, further blood values (e.g. the ammonia value) are collected.

Therapy

The therapy of a lowered urea value depends on the underlying cause. The most common cause, a too low protein intake, usually does not require a special therapy. In this case, only a protein-rich diet should be taken into account.

In addition to fish, pulses and nuts are particularly suitable for this purpose. If malnutrition is already present, it must be ensured that other important food components are available in sufficient quantities in addition to proteins. Vitamins and trace elements such as iron and magnesium should be taken into account.

The therapy of more serious causes of a lowered urea level is individually adapted to the respective clinical picture. In this case, it is primarily the disease and not the lowered value that is treated.This will increase again by itself if the therapy is successful. As long as the cause of the urea reduction is an unbalanced or even malnutrition, it makes sense to change the diet.

A low-protein diet is the most common reason for low urea levels. Accordingly, special attention should be paid to a sufficient protein intake. Animal foods that contain a particularly high amount of protein: Chicken breast, lean beef, fish, curd and cheese (e.g. Parmesan cheese). For vegans and vegetarians, the following vegetable foods are particularly suitable: chickpeas, lentils, almonds, soybeans and oatmeal.