Biomarkers · Chemical

Uric Acid

A uric acid test measures the amount of uric acid in a sample of your blood or urine (pee). Uric acid is a normal waste product that your body makes when it breaks down chemicals called purines.

Uric Acid Test, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine

Uric acid is a waste product the body makes when it breaks down chemicals called purines. Uric acid builds up in the blood when the body makes too much of it or the kidneys remove too little.

Also listed as: serum uric acid, urate
Primary unit: mg/dL
LOINC codes: 3084-1
Tests that measure Uric Acid: Labcorp 3, Quest Diagnostics 1

See why clinicians order the test

Clinicians use the blood test to help diagnose gout, usually alongside an analysis of joint fluid.
Condition: Gout
Gout guidelines use serial serum urate measurements to guide dosing of therapy that lowers urate toward a set target.
Condition: Gout
Clinicians monitor uric acid levels in people receiving chemotherapy or certain other cancer treatments.
Clinicians may order the test for people with metabolic syndrome, a condition that raises the risk of high uric acid levels.
Condition: Metabolic syndrome

Check what can shift results

Physiology
- Eating many foods that are high in purines can raise blood uric acid levels.
Medicine
- Many medicines, including aspirin, can affect uric acid levels measured in blood and urine.
- Certain cancer therapies can raise uric acid levels as they break down tumor cells.
Supplement
- Niacin, also called vitamin B3, can also affect uric acid test results.

Prepare for the test

MedlinePlus advises telling the provider about all medicines taken before a uric acid test.
MedlinePlus advises against stopping any medicine without first talking with the provider.

Each statement links to the source we wrote it from. Last updated October 19, 2026.

Ranges

Compare the reference ranges labs publish with guideline targets, diagnostic cut-offs, study-based ranges and practitioner targets. Move across the rows to check a value against each range, and open a source from the legend. How to read these ranges

Uric Acid, mg/dL

Labs, womenLabs, menACR 2020 treat-to-target

Lab reference ranges2 labs
ACR 2020 treat-to-targetbelow 6.0

All 5 published ranges, with sources

Lab reference ranges

Quest, men 19 and older4 to 8 mg/dL
Men 19 and older
Quest Diagnostics Test Directory, Uric Acid (905), 2025
Quest, women 19 and older2.5 to 7 mg/dL
Women 19 and older
Quest Diagnostics Test Directory, Uric Acid (905), 2025
Labcorp, men 18 and older3.8 to 8.4 mg/dL
Men 18 and older
Labcorp test menu, Uric Acid (001057), 2026
Labcorp, women 18 to 502.6 to 6.2 mg/dL
Women 18 to 50
Labcorp test menu, Uric Acid (001057), 2026

Guideline targets

ACR 2020 treat-to-targetbelow 6 mg/dL
People with gout on urate-lowering therapy
Serum urate below 6 mg/dL, maintained with urate-lowering therapy.
2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout

Tests

Check the catalog code, specimen, method and preparation for every test that measures Uric Acid. Select up to five tests to compare them side by side.

Labcorp 3 tests

Single-analyte tests

Uric Acid 001057
Serum · Fasting not stated · Turnaround Within 1 day
Method and collection
Method
Uricase
Collection
Separate serum or plasma from cells within 45 minutes of collection.
Reference notes
• Male:1 − 0 to 30 days: 3.9−7.8 mg/dL − 1 to 6 months: 1.9−8.1 mg/dL − 7 to 11 months: 2.0−6.5 mg/dL − 1 to 11 years: 2.2−5.5 mg/dL − 12 years: 2.9−7.0 mg/dL – 13 to 17 years: 3.9–7.7 mg/dL – 18 years and older: 3.8–8.4 mg/dL • Female: − 0 to 30 days: 2.7−6.5 mg/dL − 1 to 6 months: 2.0−6.6 mg/dL − 7 to 11 months: 2.1−5.7 mg/dL − 1 to 5 years: 2.0−5.0 mg/dL − 6 to 11 years: 2.4−5.6 mg/dL – 12 to 17 years: 2.9–6.1 mg/dL – 18 to 50 years: 2.6–6.2 mg/dL – 51 to 70 years: 3.0–7.2 mg/dL – 71 years and older: 3.1–7.9 mg/dL Therapeutic target for gout patients: <6.02
Labcorp catalog page

Panels that include this biomarker

Litholink Serum Panel (Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, CO2, Creatinine, Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Uric Acid) 910103
10 analytes · Serum · Fasting not stated · Turnaround Within 1 day
Method and collection
Method
See individual tests.
Preparation
Patient should fast for 12 hours preceding collection of specimen.
Collection
Draw blood in a gel-barrier tube and centrifuge. If red-top tube or green-top tube is used, centrifuge within 45 minutes of draw, remove the serum or plasma and place in a transport tube and tightly stopper the tube.
Labcorp catalog page
Preeclampsia Monitoring Profile With 24-Hour Urine 360640
30 analytes · Serum · Fasting not stated · Turnaround Within 1 day
Method and collection
Method
See individual tests.
Labcorp catalog page

Quest Diagnostics 1 test

Single-analyte tests

Uric Acid 905
Serum · Fasting not stated · Turnaround Set up: Mon-Sat; Report available: 3 days
Method and collection
Method
Spectrophotometry (SP)
Preparation
The assay manufacturer Beckman Coulter advises: N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), when administered in therapeutic concentrations (for the treatment of acetaminophen overdose), has been determined to interfere with assays for cholesterol and uric acid where "NAC interference may lead to falsely low results." According to Beckman Coulter, the NAC interference should be insignificant by 12 hours after completion of the initial loading dose of an IV infusion treatment regimen consisting of an initial loading dose of 150 mg/kg administered over 1 hour, a second dose of 50 mg/kg administered over 4 hours and a third dose of 100 mg/kg administered over 16 hours.
Collection
Note: N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) (metabolite of acetaminophen) will generate erroneously low results in samples for patients that have taken toxic doses of acetaminophen.
Reference notes
Male (mg/dL) Female (mg/dL) <1 Month 1.5-3.9 1.5-4.6 1-11 Months 1.5-5.6 1.5-5.4 1-3 Years 2.1-5.6 1.8-5.0 4-6 Years 1.8-5.5 2.0-5.1 7-9 Years 1.8-5.4 1.8-5.5 10-12 Years 2.2-5.8 2.5-5.9 13-15 Years 3.1-7.0 2.2-6.4 16-18 Years 2.1-7.6 2.4-6.6 ≥19 Years 4.0-8.0 2.5-7.0
Quest Diagnostics catalog page

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Goals and conditions

We link Uric Acid to these goals and conditions from named guidelines and studies.

GoutCondition, ICD-10 M10.9, primary marker
The ACR guideline recommends urate-lowering therapy to reach and keep serum urate below 6 mg/dL.
2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout

Sources

Check the guidelines, studies and lab catalogs behind every range and link on this page. Open a source to see each claim it backs.

Clinical guidelines

2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout
American College of Rheumatology, 2020
- Reasons to test
  Gout guidelines use serial serum urate measurements to guide dosing of therapy that lowers urate toward a set target.
  “Strong recommendations included initiation of ULT for all patients with tophaceous gout, radiographic damage due to gout, or frequent gout flares; allopurinol as the preferred first-line ULT, including for those with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease (CKD; stage >3); using a low starting dose of allopurinol (≤100 mg/day, and lower in CKD) or febuxostat (<40 mg/day); and a treat-to-target management strategy with ULT dose titration guided by serial serum urate (SU) measurements, with an SU target of <6 mg/dl.”
- Linked to Gout (primary)
  The ACR guideline recommends urate-lowering therapy to reach and keep serum urate below 6 mg/dL.
- Guideline target: ACR 2020 treat-to-target, below 6 mg/dL
  Population: People with gout on urate-lowering therapy
  Serum urate below 6 mg/dL, maintained with urate-lowering therapy.
Open source PubMed 32391934

Lab catalogs

Labcorp test menu, Uric Acid (001057)
2026
- Lab reference range: Labcorp, men 18 and older, 3.8 to 8.4 mg/dL
- Lab reference range: Labcorp, women 18 to 50, 2.6 to 6.2 mg/dL
Open source
Retrieved October 16, 2026
Quest Diagnostics Test Directory, Uric Acid (905)
2025
- Lab reference range: Quest, men 19 and older, 4 to 8 mg/dL
- Lab reference range: Quest, women 19 and older, 2.5 to 7 mg/dL
Open source
Retrieved October 12, 2025
Labcorp test menu
Labcorp
- Test catalog: 3 tests, with codes, specimens, methods and reference intervals
Open source
Quest Diagnostics test menu
Quest Diagnostics
- Test catalog: 1 tests, with codes, specimens, methods and reference intervals
Open source

Reference sources

Uric Acid Test
MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine
- Before the test
  MedlinePlus advises telling the provider about all medicines taken before a uric acid test.
  “So, be sure to tell your provider about all the medicines you take.”
- Before the test
  MedlinePlus advises against stopping any medicine without first talking with the provider.
  “But don’t stop taking any medicines without talking with your provider first.”
- Reasons to test
  Clinicians use the blood test to help diagnose gout, usually alongside an analysis of joint fluid.
  “Help diagnose gout, usually when done with a synovial fluid analysis.”
- Reasons to test
  Clinicians monitor uric acid levels in people receiving chemotherapy or certain other cancer treatments.
  “Monitor uric acid levels in people who are having cancer chemotherapy or certain other cancer treatments.”
- Reasons to test
  Clinicians may order the test for people with metabolic syndrome, a condition that raises the risk of high uric acid levels.
  “Have metabolic syndrome, a condition that increases your risk for having high uric acid levels”
- What can shift results
  Many medicines, including aspirin, can affect uric acid levels measured in blood and urine.
  “Many medicines, including aspirin, can affect uric acid levels in your blood and urine.”
- What can shift results
  Certain cancer therapies can raise uric acid levels as they break down tumor cells.
  “Are receiving cancer treatment, since certain therapies can raise uric acid levels as they break down tumor cells”
- What can shift results
  Niacin, also called vitamin B3, can also affect uric acid test results.
  “Taking niacin (vitamin B-3) can also affect your results.”
- What can shift results
  Eating many foods that are high in purines can raise blood uric acid levels.
  “You may also have high levels if you’re eating too many foods that are high in purines, such as:”
- What it reflects
  Uric acid builds up in the blood when the body makes too much of it or the kidneys remove too little.
  “But if your body makes too much uric acid or your kidneys don't remove enough of it, uric acid can build up in your blood.”
- What it reflects
  Uric acid is a waste product the body makes when it breaks down chemicals called purines.
  “Uric acid is a normal waste product that your body makes when it breaks down chemicals called purines.”
Open source
Retrieved October 19, 2026
Uric Acid Test
MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine
- The description at the top of this page
Open source

Codes and registries

LOINC 3084-1
Regenstrief Institute codes that identify the same result across labs.
Search ClinicalTrials.gov for Uric Acid
Registered studies that measure Uric Acid, on the U.S. National Library of Medicine registry.

Verify these ranges and sources

We compile this page from named laboratory catalogs, guidelines and studies. Labs calculate reference intervals from the people they test, for one assay method and one population group, so an interval describes that population rather than an optimal target.

Interpret your own results with a licensed clinician, or track your lab history and health goals in Aumnivida.

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