Calcium 24 Hour Urine (Without Creatinine) Biomarker Testing
It measures how much calcium you excrete in urine over 24 hours to assess stone and calcium-balance risk, with easy ordering through Vitals Vault/Quest.
With Vitals Vault, you have access to a comprehensive range of biomarker tests.
A 24-hour urine calcium test tells you how much calcium your kidneys are sending out into your urine over a full day. That number can matter even when your blood calcium looks normal, because urine reflects what your kidneys are actually handling.
This test is most often used to evaluate kidney stone risk, unexplained high or low calcium in the urine, or to monitor changes after diet or medication adjustments. Because it is a timed collection, the quality of the sample (and how completely you collect) has a big impact on how trustworthy the result is.
This version is “without creatinine,” which means the report focuses on total calcium excreted in 24 hours rather than a calcium-to-creatinine ratio. Your clinician may still pair it with other labs to confirm whether the collection was complete and to identify the driver behind an abnormal result.
Do I need a Calcium 24 Hour Urine Without Creatinine test?
You may benefit from a 24-hour urine calcium test if you have had a kidney stone, especially a calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate stone, or if you have recurrent stones. High urine calcium (hypercalciuria) is a common, treatable contributor to stone formation.
This test can also be useful if you have osteoporosis or low bone density and your clinician is checking whether you are losing too much calcium through your kidneys. In some people, urinary calcium loss can be part of the story behind bone loss, even when diet seems adequate.
You might also be asked to do this test if you have abnormal blood calcium, abnormal parathyroid hormone (PTH), chronic kidney disease concerns, or symptoms that prompt a deeper look at calcium balance. The 24-hour urine result helps your clinician distinguish between different causes and choose the right next step.
Testing supports clinician-directed care and follow-up planning, but it cannot diagnose a condition by itself. Your symptoms, medications, diet, and companion labs are what turn a single number into a useful plan.
This test is performed in a CLIA-certified laboratory; results are for education and clinical discussion and are not a standalone diagnosis.
Lab testing
Order Calcium 24 Hour Urine (Without Creatinine)
Schedule online, results typically within about a week
Clear reporting and optional clinician context
HSA/FSA eligible where applicable
Get this test with Vitals Vault
Vitals Vault lets you order a Calcium 24 Hour Urine (without creatinine) test and complete it through a national lab network. Because it is a timed urine collection, you will receive clear collection instructions so you can avoid common mistakes that skew results.
After your result posts, you can use PocketMD to put it into context—such as what “high” urine calcium usually means, what to ask your clinician, and which companion tests often clarify the cause. If you are monitoring a change (for example, diet changes, hydration targets, or a medication adjustment), you can also use Vitals Vault to reorder and trend your results over time.
If your result is abnormal, PocketMD can help you prepare for a focused follow-up visit by summarizing likely drivers and the typical next labs or urine markers that complete a kidney-stone or calcium-balance workup.
- Order online and test through the Quest network
- PocketMD guidance for next steps and retest timing
- Designed for trending results over time, not one-off numbers
Key benefits of Calcium 24 Hour Urine (without creatinine) testing
- Quantifies your total daily urinary calcium loss, which is a key driver of many calcium-based kidney stones.
- Helps distinguish “high urine calcium” patterns that may respond to diet, hydration, or medication changes.
- Adds context when blood calcium is normal but stone risk or bone loss suggests calcium handling issues.
- Supports evaluation of parathyroid- and vitamin D–related calcium balance when paired with blood tests.
- Provides a baseline to monitor whether interventions are lowering urinary calcium over time.
- Clarifies whether symptoms or history warrant a broader 24-hour urine stone-risk panel.
- Gives you a concrete number you can discuss in PocketMD and with your clinician for targeted follow-up.
What is Calcium 24 Hour Urine Without Creatinine?
Calcium is a mineral your body uses for bone structure, muscle contraction, nerve signaling, and blood clotting. Your kidneys help keep calcium in balance by filtering calcium from the blood and then reabsorbing most of it back into the body. The amount that remains in the urine over 24 hours is your urinary calcium excretion.
A 24-hour urine calcium test measures the total amount of calcium you pass in your urine during a full day. Unlike a spot urine calcium test, it captures day-to-day variation in diet, hydration, and kidney handling, which is why it is commonly used in kidney stone evaluation.
“Without creatinine” means the lab report is not calculating a calcium-to-creatinine ratio as the primary output. Some clinicians prefer a separate creatinine measurement to assess collection completeness, but this specific order focuses on the calcium total. If there is concern that the collection was incomplete, your clinician may add a 24-hour urine creatinine or choose a broader 24-hour urine evaluation.
What do my Calcium 24 Hour Urine (without creatinine) results mean?
Low urine calcium (low 24-hour calcium excretion)
A low result often reflects low dietary calcium intake, low overall intake during the collection day, or reduced intestinal absorption of calcium. It can also occur if you were significantly dehydrated or if the collection was incomplete (missed voids can lower the total). In some clinical contexts, low urine calcium can be seen with certain metabolic patterns or advanced kidney disease, but interpretation depends heavily on your kidney function and blood calcium-related labs.
In-range urine calcium
An in-range 24-hour urine calcium result suggests your kidneys are not excreting an unusually high amount of calcium on that day. For stone risk, “in-range” is reassuring but not the whole picture, because stones also depend on urine volume, sodium, citrate, oxalate, and pH. If you have a stone history, your clinician may still recommend a more complete 24-hour urine stone-risk evaluation to see whether other factors are driving risk.
High urine calcium (hypercalciuria)
A high result means you are excreting more calcium than expected over 24 hours, which can raise the risk of calcium-based kidney stones and may contribute to bone mineral loss in some people. Common contributors include high sodium intake (salt increases urinary calcium), high animal-protein intake, high calcium supplementation timing/dose, certain medications, and some endocrine conditions such as hyperparathyroidism. Your clinician will usually interpret this alongside blood calcium, PTH, vitamin D status, kidney function, and your stone type/history to decide on next steps.
Factors that influence 24-hour urine calcium
Your result can shift based on how completely you collected all urine for the full 24 hours, your hydration level, and what you ate during the collection. Sodium intake is a major confounder because higher salt intake typically increases urinary calcium loss. Medications can also change results, including thiazide diuretics (often lower urine calcium), loop diuretics (can raise it), corticosteroids, and high-dose vitamin D or calcium supplements. Recent illness, heavy exercise, and changes in kidney function can also affect excretion, so your clinician may recommend repeating the test under more typical conditions.
What’s included
- Calcium, 24 Hour Urine
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you do a 24-hour urine calcium collection?
You will collect all urine you pass over a full 24 hours in the provided container. Typically you discard the first morning urine, note the start time, then collect every void for the next 24 hours including the final urine at the end time. Missing even one or two voids can make the total calcium look falsely low, so follow the lab’s instructions closely.
Do I need to fast for a 24-hour urine calcium test?
Fasting is usually not required because the test measures total calcium excretion over a day. What matters more is keeping your diet and activity as typical as possible unless your clinician gives specific instructions (for example, holding supplements). If you change your diet dramatically during the collection, the result may not reflect your usual pattern.
What is a normal 24-hour urine calcium level?
“Normal” depends on the lab method, your sex, age, and sometimes body size, so you should use the reference interval printed on your report. Clinicians also interpret the number in the context of stone risk, urine volume, sodium intake, and whether you are taking calcium or vitamin D. If your result is near a cutoff, repeating the test under stable conditions can be helpful.
What causes high urine calcium besides kidney stones?
High urine calcium can be driven by high sodium intake, higher animal-protein intake, certain medications, high-dose vitamin D or calcium supplements, and endocrine causes such as hyperparathyroidism. It can also be seen with some kidney tubular disorders. Your clinician usually pairs this test with blood calcium, PTH, vitamin D, and kidney function tests to identify the most likely cause.
Why is this test ordered without creatinine?
This order focuses on the total amount of calcium excreted in 24 hours. Creatinine in a 24-hour urine sample is often used as a check on collection completeness, but it is not required for the calcium measurement itself. If there is concern that the collection may have been incomplete, your clinician may add a 24-hour urine creatinine or repeat the collection.
If my urine calcium is high, what happens next?
Next steps usually start with confirming the collection quality and reviewing diet (especially sodium), hydration, and supplements. Your clinician may order companion blood tests (calcium, PTH, vitamin D, kidney function) and may recommend a broader 24-hour urine stone-risk evaluation that includes urine volume, citrate, oxalate, uric acid, sodium, and pH. Management depends on your stone history, bone health, and overall risk profile.
How often should I repeat a 24-hour urine calcium test?
Retesting is commonly done after a meaningful change—such as a new stone-prevention plan, a medication change, or a targeted diet adjustment—often after several weeks to a few months so your body reaches a steady state. If you have recurrent stones, your clinician may repeat testing periodically to ensure risk factors remain controlled. PocketMD can help you decide what retest timing to discuss based on your goal (baseline vs monitoring).