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Urea Excretion in Adult Humans with Varying Degrees of Kidney Malfunction Fed Milk, Egg or an Amino Acid Mixture: Assessment of Nitrogen Balance¹

Metabolism and Nutrition Unit, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Donato Alvarez 3000, Buenos Aires, República Argentina

To evaluate the urea load (amount to be excreted by the kidney in 24 hours) associated with a determined nitrogen intake, 16 studies of nitrogen balance were performed on 10 patients with different degrees of kidney function. A close association between urea excretion and nitrogen intake was found in the studies showing nitrogen equilibrium and between urea excretion and measured nitrogen losses (sum of urinary and fecal nitrogen) independently of the state of nitrogen balance. Urea excretion decreased linearly 2.03 g per each gram of decrement in nitrogen losses. The regression line between both variables allows one, with an adequate correction for dermal losses, to assess the urea load that will result from a determined protein intake while nitrogen balance remains at equilibrium. It also allows one to estimate net protein catabolism from urea excretion.

KEY WORDS: • urea • nitrogen • kidney • human

¹ Supported in part by a grant from Subsecretaria de Salud Pública, Ministerio de Bienestar Social de la Nacion, República Argentina.

Manuscript received 18 January 1972.