Why take a general urine test and how to decipher the results

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Examination can help find illnesses before symptoms appear.

Why do you need a general urine test

Only a doctor can give a referral for this Urinalysis examination. This usually happens when a person goes to a hospital or clinic, undergoes medical examination, or is about to undergo surgery.

Thanks to the general analysis of urine, the patient can detect signs of diabetes, diseases of the urinary system and liver. During the test, the lab technician looks for substances or cells that indicate a problem. For example, glucose in samples can indicate diabetes even before symptoms appear.

It happens that the analysis is prescribed not to search for a disease, but to confirm the diagnosis. Suppose a patient comes to the doctor with symptoms of a urinary tract infection: blood in the urine, painful and frequent urination, pain in the back and abdomen.

How to prepare for a general urine test

Preparation begins the day before General urinalysis (with sediment microscopy). During the day, try not to eat foods that can give the urine a reddish or orange tint. These are beets, blueberries and carrots. It is better not to drink alcohol, strong tea or coffee. Also, doctors ask not to take diuretics, not to play sports and not to visit the bathhouse or sauna before taking the test.

If you are undergoing other examinations at the same time, it is possible that Urinalysis will have to eat nothing before them. Usually doctors themselves warn about this.

Some Urinalysis: Results and Follow-Up drugs can skew the test results. For example, muscle relaxants and vitamin C. Therefore, your doctor needs to talk about the medications you are taking.

Women should not pass urine during menstruation. Urinalysis: Results and Follow-Up. Due to the admixture of blood, the result is also unreliable.

Purchase a disposable sterile container from your pharmacy the day before your test. A glass jar for baby food will not work.

How to collect urine so as not to distort the test results

Doctors recommend collecting samples in the morning of Urinalysis. After sleep, the urine is concentrated, so abnormalities become more obvious.

To get the most accurate results, it is best to collect urine from the middle of the stream into the jar using the "clean catch" method. Here's how to do it:

• Wash the vulva and urethral opening with soap and water. Women need to part the labia and clean them from front to back. Men wash the tip of the penis.
• Begin urinating down the toilet.
• Place the container under the stream without interrupting urination. You need to collect 30-60 milliliters.
• Close the jar with a lid and take it to the laboratory within an hour. If you do not have time, put the container in a cool place.

How to decipher the results of a general urine test

The laboratory technician evaluates the sample in three ways: visual inspection, test strip, and microscopic examination. Each of the stages is responsible for identifying certain substances. All data is entered into the certificate with the results. As a rule, it contains 20 parameters.

Colour

Normal urine has a color ranging from straw-yellow to rich yellow. With deviations, the shade changes. For example, on brown Urine analysis II: Physical examination Urinary sediment, if a person suffers from diseases of the liver or biliary tract.

Transparency

If everything is in order, the sample will be transparent. Clinical analysis of urine. Characteristics of laboratory parameters. Clouding can be caused by bacteria, salt or mucus. What exactly is determined by the laboratory assistant during the microscopic analysis.

Smell

The urine of healthy people almost does not smell. Clinical analysis of urine. Characteristics of laboratory parameters. The smell of acetone can appear in diabetes. Ammonia - for cystitis, tuberculosis or cancer.

Relative density (specific gravity)

Indicates the concentration of substances. Clinical analysis of urine. Characterization of laboratory parameters dissolved in urine, such as salts. These data indicate how well the kidneys are working. Values of General urine analysis from 1, 003 to 1, 035 are considered acceptable.

Acidity (pH)

Indicates the level of urinalysis acid in the urine. Urinalysis range is considered normal. Characteristics of laboratory parameters from 5, 0 to 7, 0. Large deviations may appear due to diseases of the kidneys or urinary tract.

Protein

Normal General urine analysis of albumin protein molecules in urine is either absent at all, or very little - up to 0, 140 grams per liter. If the value is exceeded, scientists talk about proteinuria Protein in urine. It can be an early sign of kidney disease.

Glucose (sugar)

Urinalysis glucose is usually so low in urine samples that it cannot be detected. If the laboratory assistant still finds sugar, you need to get tested for diabetes.

Ketone bodies

Normally they should not be in the Urinalysis: A Comprehensive Review sample. They can appear during pregnancy, a carbohydrate-free diet, or fasting. But usually ketone bodies in urine are interpreted as a sign of diabetes, so additional tests need to be done.

Bilirubin

It is a breakdown product of red blood cells. Usually it is processed by the liver, after which it is part of the bile. Bilirubin Urine Tests: Normal Values should be free of urine. If it does appear, it could be a sign of liver damage or disease.

Urobilinogen

It is a bilirubin recovery product. Most of it is excreted in the feces, a small part in the urine. Acceptable values of Urine Tests: Normal Values - from 0, 2 to 1, 0. Excess, that is, urobilinuria Clinical analysis of urine. The characteristics of laboratory parameters can talk about hepatitis, cirrhosis, hemolytic anemia and bowel diseases.

Leukocytes

The values of the clinical analysis of urine are considered normal. Characteristics of laboratory parameters up to 3 in men and up to 5-6 in women and children. Excess is called leukocyturia. It can be a sign of kidney or urinary tract inflammation.

Leukocyte esterase and nitrites

Healthy people have negative urinalysis tests. The presence of these substances can also indicate a urinary tract infection.

The epithelium is flat

His cells Clinical analysis of urine. Characteristics of laboratory parameters fall into samples from the external genital organs and the urethra. Normally, this figure should be no more than 5. In men, flat epithelium sometimes appears in the urine with inflammation of the urethra.

Transitional epithelium

Lines the lining of the bladder, ureters and renal pelvis. If the laboratory assistant finds a cell in the samples 1 General urine analysis, most likely everything is fine. Excess urinalysis. Characteristics of laboratory parameters may indicate cystitis, pyelitis, or lesions in the urinary tract.

Renal epithelium

Normally, its cells are not found. If they are present in the sample, it can be urinalysis. Characteristics of laboratory parameters to speak of intoxication, infection or kidney damage, such as nephritis.

Erythrocytes (blood)

In the urine of healthy people, a general urine analysis of up to 2 erythrocytes is found. If there are more of them, this may indicate urinalysis problems with the kidneys, blood diseases, or bladder cancer.

Cylinders

They come in several types. Clinical analysis of urine. Characteristics of laboratory parameters. For example, pigment casts appear in renal sarcomas, and leukocyte casts - in pyelonephritis. These protein formations are not found in urine samples from healthy people.

Bacteria and yeast

Normally, Urinalysis should not have them. Sometimes they appear due to a urinary tract infection.

Salt

If there are no Urinalysis salts in the samples, everything is in order. When a lab technician finds them, it could indicate kidney stones.

Slime

In analyzes Clinical analysis of urine. The characteristic of laboratory indicators of healthy people is either completely absent, or there, but not enough. Then the technician marks "insignificant amount". If there is a lot of mucus, this may indicate an inflammation of the urinary tract.

What to do if there are abnormalities in the results of the general urinalysis

It is impossible to diagnose yourself and select drugs on your own immediately after a general urine test. It can hurt.

The results indicate Urinalysis: Results and Follow-Up to the potential problem, not the source. Therefore, the data must be taken to the doctor who ordered the analysis. Only a specialist can correctly decipher the indicators and decide what to do next. Additional examinations may be needed. For example, a blood test. This will help to find out if there is a disease.

If it turns out that, in general, a person is healthy Urinalysis, then small deviations from the norm are not a cause for concern. If the patient has, for example, kidney problems, the doctor will prescribe treatment.