Utility of Urinary Protein-Creatinine Ratio and Protein Content in a 24-Hour Urine Collection in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objective: To systematically review literature on the utility of spot urinary protein-creatinine ratio (PCR) as a screening test for proteinuria and its ability to accurately measure proteinuria compared with 24-hour urine collection (24H-P) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: We conducted a literature search (1900–2015) for articles comparing PCR and 24H-P in SLE patients in the databases Medline, Web of Science, and Embase. Included studies and their results were critically appraised and analyzed. Results: Thirteen studies (1,001 patients; 84.01% women) were included. Ten studies reported on Pearson's correlation (range 0.67–0.94), and 3 studies reported on Spearman's correlation (range 0.78–1.00). The meta-analysis of studies with Pearson's correlation showed a high overall correlation of 0.80 between 24H-P and PCR, yet with high heterogeneity (I2 = 97.2%). Correlation analysis is not sufficient to evaluate the utility of a new test against the gold standard test, and analysis on agreement is required. Seven studies reported on agreement: 3 studies analyzed concordance correlation coefficient (0.48–0.94), 3 analyzed intraclass correlation coefficient (0.66–0.95), and 1 analyzed kappa coefficient (0.58). These results confirmed that the agreement between 24H-P and PCR was inappropriate. Three studies included Bland-Altman plots, and the results also demonstrated poor agreement between both tests. Conclusion: The PCR has a utility as a screening test for proteinuria in SLE patients. The studies' results of 24H-P and PCR showed poor agreement between both tests, signifying that PCR should not be a substitute for the gold standard test (24H-P) to accurately measure proteinuria.