The protein creatinine index in early morning and random urine specimens was compared with the 24 hour urinary excretion of protein in normal subjects and outpatients with abnormal proteinuria. A protein creatinine index (defined as (mg protein/l divided by creatinine mmol/l) times 10) below 125 in a random specimen excluded abnormal proteinuria, whereas an index of more than 136 indicated the presence of pathological proteinuria. The index for random specimens provided a useful semiquantitative assessment of the 24 hour excretion of protein (mg protein/24 hours), but the index for early morning specimens was less reliable. Errors with Albustix were partly due to intra and inter observer variations in the interpretation of the colour formed when compared with the chart provided.It is proposed that the protein creatinine index on random urine samples should be used to supplement dipsticks in screening for proteinuria in cases where misclassification would be serious. IntroductionMinor degrees of proteinuria may indicate the presence of

SummaryThe case is reported of a woman who recovered from acute glomerulonephritis with oliguria of 43 days duration and who subsequently developed hypercalcaemia, treated by parathyroidectomy.The evidence is presented that the acute nephritis developed in the presence of a primary parathyroid adenoma, providing the natural experiment of hypercalcaemia temporarily depressed by acute renal failure. IntroductionThe gloomy prognosis of acute oliguric glomerulonephritis (Berlyne & Baker, 1964) is relieved by occasional reports of recovery following prolonged oliguria (Persoff, 1965). Here we report recovery from acute glomerulonephritis after 43 days of oliguria and discuss the implications of renal biopsy findings in such patients, and their management by dialysis, diet and drugs.Our patient also had a parathyroid adenoma, later successfully removed. The report illustrates the effect of acute renal failure on the biochemistry of hyperparathyroidism and the difficulty of distinguishing primary from secondary hyperparathyroidism.