INCREASED URINARY LOSS OF URIC-ACID IN ADULTS WITH ACUTE RESPIRATORY-FAILURE REQUIRING MECHANICAL VENTILATION

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesis of increased urinary excretion of uric acid as an indicator of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) degradation in adult patients with acute respiratory failure, and to look for a correlation to the clinical outcome. Study Design: Prospectively 31 patients with acute respiratory failure were studied. The patients were divided into two groups according to the clinical outcome: the need for solely supplemental oxygen (group 1), death or mechanical ventilation (group 2). Methods: Uric acid was determined by spectrophotometry. Results: Mean uric acid excretion was 39-mu-mol/kg (range, 7 to 92-mu-mol/kg) body weight/per 24 h in group 1 (16 patients) compared with 65-mu-mol/kg/24 h (range, 8 to 253-mu-mol/kg/24 h) in group 2 (13 patients were mechanically ventilated, and two patients died). The difference was highly significant (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Increased amount of urinary uric acid was related to the severity of acute respiratory failure in adults.