The earliest indicator of kidney disease is the presence of protein (albumin) in the urine. It is now possible to test at home the presence of albumin in the urine, a test that has hitherto been confined to the laboratory.
“Ideally, there should be no protein in the urine. The presence of albumin indicates that something may be wrong with kidney function,” explains Rajan Ravichandran, senior nephrologist. “In this country, while home tests are available for a number of parameters, including sugar and blood pressure, there was no home test for urine,” he adds. A home test would be able to take the message of renal care to patients just as a glucometer has given patients the power to keep tabs on their blood sugar.
While chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious global problem, it is especially relevant in India which has high incidence of known risk factors – diabetes and hypertension. CKD should be detected early to prevent further progression to a stage requiring dialysis or transplantation, says Dr. Ravichandran. He adds that 80 per cent of kidney disease can be identified by the presence and levels of albumin in urine.
“We wanted to make it easy and convenient to test the urine not only for protein but also for glucose at home itself,” explains Dr. Ravichandran, who also heads Balaji Medical and Educational Trust.
The Trust sends to people a plastic pouch with a test strip along with a colour code indicator completely free of charge to enable them to test their urine at home. The strip will have to be used with the first morning urine sample for the best results and the colours compared with the guide provided.
“The problem hitherto has been that the strip does not tolerate moisture, so it gives untrustworthy results if it has been exposed to moisture by chance. We have packed the strip with a silica gel pouch and given specific instructions on immediate use, adds Dr. Ravichandran. With over a 100 patients already trying it at home, and results proving reliable on comparison with laboratory findings, the team is hopeful of its function as an epidemiological tool in the community setting.
The samples will be sent to various corporate offices to be distributed among employees, in an attempt to cover 5,000 people in the first phase. One of the top corporates to take this project on is Tata Consultancy Services. Its Vice-President (Global Alliances) K.Jayaramakrishnan explains, “We are planning to take samples from two of our offices – the Cathedral Road and Habibullah Road branches. We had a do-it-yourself demo for employees. Once they are done with the test, they will fill up the attached form and we will send this back.”
The form tracks age, sex, and history of diabetes and hypertension of everyone using the test strip. It also records the relevant results (pH, protein, and glucose) as indicated by the colours on the strip. If anyone wants to be intimated about the results, that option too is available on the form. This data will be analysed for trends and patterns, adds Dr. Ravichandran.
