Comparative Study of Two Screening Tests for Urinary Porphyrins in the Diagnosis of Porphyrias

Authors

  • Sarawut Junnu Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University
  • Chatchawan Srisawat Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University
  • Sukanya Jantarapassvorn Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University
  • Rungtip Soi-ampornkul Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University
  • Nutthiwut Wattanaraksakul Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University
  • Neelobol Neungton Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University

Keywords:

Screening test, Porphyrias, Urinary porphyrins

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of two urinary porphyrins screening tests: routine fluorescent detection and semi quantitative spectrophotometric scanning.
Methods: Minimal-level detection was performed by adding standard coproporphyrin of 0, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500 μg/L in urine and then screened by the two methods. Urine samples from 39 controls, 7 patients with porphyrias and 20 patients with liver impairment were quantitated for total porphyrins, followed by a comparison of the two qualitative tests.
Results: The fluorescent test detected the minimal porphyrin level at 250 μg/L whereas spectrophotometric scanning could detect a lower level, at 100 μg/L. Total control subjects showed negative results from both tests while all 7 patients with porphyrias and 6 out of 20 cases of liver impairment showed definite positive results.
Conclusion: Urinary screening for porphyrins from both tests revealed the same accuracy from this study. Still, the spectrophotometric method which is simpler, more sensitive and easily interpretable seemed more practical as a screening test in general laboratories.

Downloads

Published

01-12-2005

How to Cite

Junnu, S. ., Srisawat, C. ., Jantarapassvorn, S., Soi-ampornkul, R. ., Wattanaraksakul, N. ., & Neungton, N. . (2005). Comparative Study of Two Screening Tests for Urinary Porphyrins in the Diagnosis of Porphyrias. Siriraj Medical Journal, 57(12), 531–536. Retrieved from https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/sirirajmedj/article/view/245642

Issue

Vol. 57 No. 12 (2005): December

Section

Original Article

License

Users are free to share, copy, and redistribute all articles published in the Siriraj Medical Journal (SMJ) in any medium or format as long as you follow the following terms:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the material, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the publisher endorses you or your use.
  • NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
  • NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.