24-Hour Urinary Protein Calculator

Calculate total protein excretion from a timed 24-hour urine collection, classify proteinuria severity, and optionally check whether the collection was likely complete using urine creatinine.

Enter 24-hour collection values

Tap the unit badges to switch mg/dL ⇆ g/L (protein) and mL ⇆ L (volume).

Urine Protein Concentration

Total 24-Hour Urine Volume

Total volume of urine collected over the full 24-hour period.

Total 24-Hour Urine Protein

– mg/24h

–

Normal Mild Moderate Heavy Nephrotic

Scale capped for display at 5000 mg/24h. Result accuracy depends entirely on how complete and accurately-timed the 24-hour collection was.

Check collection completeness (optional)

Urine creatinine excretion should stay fairly constant day to day for a given person — comparing the measured value to the expected range for weight and sex flags likely under- or over-collection.

24-Hour Urine Creatinine

mg/dL

Patient Weight

Sex

Measured Creatinine Excretion

–

mg/24h, from your entries

Expected Range

–

Based on weight & sex

Enter urine creatinine and weight to check collection completeness.

24-Hour Urine Protein Reference Ranges

Normal

<150 mg

No significant proteinuria

Mild

150–500 mg

Warrants further workup

Moderate

500–1000 mg

Significant proteinuria

Heavy

1000–3500 mg

Marked proteinuria

Nephrotic-Range

≥3500 mg

≥3.5 g/24h

Formula

Total Protein (mg/24h) = Urine Protein (mg/dL) × Urine Volume (mL) ÷ 100 Creatinine Excretion (mg/24h) = Urine Creatinine (mg/dL) × Urine Volume (mL) ÷ 100 Expected Creatinine Excretion ≈ Weight(kg) × 20–25 mg/kg/day (male) or 15–20 mg/kg/day (female)

About 24-hour urine protein testing

A timed 24-hour urine collection is the traditional reference method for quantifying total protein excretion, capturing the variation in protein excretion that can occur throughout the day (including postural/orthostatic effects). It remains useful in specific settings such as pregnancy-related proteinuria assessment, but has been substantially replaced in routine practice by the spot urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (PCR) or albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), which avoid the burden and collection errors of a timed collection.

Why collection completeness matters

An incomplete collection (missed voids, discarded samples) underestimates true protein excretion, while an over-long or duplicated collection overestimates it. Because a person's daily creatinine excretion is fairly stable and predictable from their muscle mass, comparing measured creatinine excretion to the expected range for their weight and sex is a standard way to flag a collection that is likely inaccurate.

Causes of proteinuria

Glomerular disease — diabetic nephropathy, glomerulonephritis, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous nephropathy
Hypertensive nephrosclerosis
Multiple myeloma / light chain (Bence Jones) proteinuria — not reliably detected by standard urine dipstick
Pre-eclampsia in pregnancy
Orthostatic (postural) proteinuria — benign, seen in young patients, resolves when supine
Transient proteinuria — fever, heavy exercise, dehydration

Limitations

Entirely dependent on patient compliance with correctly starting, storing, and completing the full 24-hour collection
Cumbersome compared to a single spot urine PCR or ACR sample, which correlates well with 24-hour values in most patients
Does not itself identify the cause of proteinuria — further evaluation (urinalysis, serum studies, imaging, or biopsy) is needed once significant proteinuria is confirmed
Nephrotic-range proteinuria (≥3.5 g/24h) should prompt prompt further nephrology evaluation, particularly when accompanied by edema, hypoalbuminemia, or hyperlipidemia (nephrotic syndrome)