BLOOD TEST · SMART CARE POLYCLINIC, DEIRA
Uric Acid explained
The waste product behind gout, which also travels with blood pressure and kidney problems.
What the Uric Acid test measures
Made when the body breaks down purines, found in its own cells and in certain foods. The kidneys clear it. More than they clear can form crystals in joints. A raised level on its own is not gout: many people have a high uric acid and never develop symptoms, and the American College of Rheumatology guideline treats the diagnosis and the number as separate questions.1
What the result tells you
High levels cause gout
A sudden severe pain in a joint, most often the base of the big toe, usually coming on overnight.
But the number does not diagnose it
Gout is a clinical diagnosis. The level can even read normal during an acute attack.
Most people with a high level never get gout
What it reliably indicates is company — it clusters with high blood pressure, obesity, kidney impairment and metabolic syndrome.
It also forms kidney stones
A separate reason to know the number in anyone who has had one.
How to prepare
- Fasting
- Preferred, and usually covered by the lipid profile fast
- Best time
- Morning, with the rest of the panel
- Avoid before
- Alcohol for 24 hours
- A very high-protein meal the day before
What can move the result
A result outside the usual range does not on its own mean something is wrong. These are the everyday explanations a doctor considers first.
Packages that include it
Frequently asked questions
Made when the body breaks down purines, found in its own cells and in certain foods. The kidneys clear it. More than they clear can form crystals in joints. A raised level on its own is not gout: many people have a high uric acid and never develop symptoms, and the American College of Rheumatology guideline treats the diagnosis and the number as separate questions. High levels cause gout: A sudden severe pain in a joint, most often the base of the big toe, usually coming on overnight.
Fasting: Preferred, and usually covered by the lipid profile fast. Best time: Morning, with the rest of the panel. Avoid beforehand: Alcohol for 24 hours; A very high-protein meal the day before.
Commonly: alcohol, beer particularly; red meat, shellfish and organ meats; sugary drinks, especially those with fructose; water tablets and low-dose aspirin; reduced kidney function, which clears less of it. A single result is not a diagnosis. Values are read against the laboratory's own reference range and alongside your history, your symptoms and the rest of the panel — which is why every package includes a doctor to go through them with you.
At Smart Care Polyclinic, 29 Doha Centre, Al Maktoum Rd, Deira, Dubai. It is included in the Smart Total Health, the Smart Total Health 360°, the Smart Extra Health, the Well Man Panel, or it can be ordered on its own. Walk in during opening hours or call +971 (0)4 379 3562.
Sources
Written from current guidance and reviewed 31 August 2026.
Sources cited above
- Khanna D, Fitzgerald JD, Khanna PP, Bae S, et al.. 2012 American College of Rheumatology guidelines for management of gout. Part 1: systematic nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapeutic approaches to hyperuricemia. Arthritis Care & Research. 2012;64(10):1431-46. PMID 23024028. doi:10.1002/acr.21772The American College of Rheumatology guideline on raised uric acid and gout — including that a high level alone is not a diagnosis.
Sources are listed for the specific statements they support. They are published research and guidance, not a substitute for a consultation — what applies to you is decided by a doctor who has assessed you.
- Uric acid testMedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine
- Gout: diagnosis and managementNICE
- GoutNHS