Practicum Flashcards
Under what magnification are urine cells enumerated?
400x
How may TNTC (too numerous to count) RBCs be dispersed so other sediment may be evaluated?
2% acetic acid will lyse the RBCs
Casts and ____ go hand-in-hand in a urine sediment
protein
Identify possible causes of a false negative dipstick test for blood.
ascorbic acid
high specific gravity
high nitrite
Which crystals appear in acid urine?
ampicillin amorphous urate aspirin bilirubin calcium phosphate calcium oxalate cholesterol cysteine hemosiderin hippuric acid leucine sulfonamide tyrosine uric acid x-ray media
Which crystals appear in alkaline urine?
- ammonium biurate
- amorphous phosphate
- calcium carbonate
- calcium phosphate
- calcium oxalate
- triple phosphate
Cystine
1) Can indicate congenital cystinosis or cystinuria, tend to deposit in tubules as calculi resulting in renal damage. 2) Can be caused by pyelonephritis, diet high in animal fat and protein.
Bilirubin
1) Indicates liver disease. 2) Formed when large amount of bilirubin is present in urine.
Leucine
1) Indicates aminoaciduria or severe liver disease. 2) Very water soluble so rarely seen.
Tyrosine
1) Indicates aminoaciduria or severe liver disease. 2) Water soluble so rarely seen but found more often than leucine.
Cholesterol
1) Rare; always accompanied by large amount of protein & other fats. 2) Seen in nephrotic syndrome & conditions resulting in chyluria (rupture of lymphatic vessels into renal tubules).
Uric Acid
1) Can be non-pathologic but large numbers seen in gout & conditions of increased purine metabolism (cytotoxic drugs used in leukemia). 2) Crystals form as body tries to rid itself of excessive uric acid in the blood possibly caused by overweight, rich diet, exposure to lead or genetic predisposition.
Calcium Oxalate
1) Non-pathologic with ingestion of high oxalate foods but also seen in ingestion of antifreeze and severe chronic renal disease. 2) Oxalic acid (metabolite of ascorbic acid) will combine with Ca2+ in urine to form calcium oxalate.
Ampicillin
1) Rare. 2) Indicates large doses of ampicillin (antibiotic).
Calcium Phosphate
1) Not clinically significant 2) Calcium and phosphate combine in urine to form an insoluble complex.
Hippuric acid
1) No clinical significance. 2) Might be seen in ethylene glycol (antifreeze) intoxication or exposure to toluene in atmosphere.
Aspirin
1) Extremely rare; if seen indicates overdose of aspirin (salicylic acid poisoning). 2) Excess aspirin in body excreted in urine where it may crystalize in acid urine.
Sulfonamide
1) Rare; renal damage uncommon 2) Original drug was insoluble & formed crystals in renal tubules causing damage. Current drugs do not have solubility problems.
x-ray media
1) Not clinically significant but may be mistaken for cholesterol. 2) Crystals can form in acid urine as body excretes the dye.
Triple Phosphate
1) No clinical significance but can be associated with UTI in alkaline pH. 2) Ammonium combines with magnesium and phosphate in alkaline urine to form “coffin lid” crystals.
Ammonium biurate
1) Not clinically significant unless found in fresh urine (extremely rare). Can be mistaken for sulfonamide. 2) Forms as urine ages. If seen, must check collection time of specimen.
Calcium carbonate
1) No clinical significance. Can be mistaken for bacteria. 2) Can be seen after large consumption of vegetables.
Amorphous urate & Amorphous phosphate
1) Not clinically significant but can make microscopy difficult. Enhanced when urine is refrigerated. 2) Can only be distinguished by acetic acid or heating to 60C (urate will dissolve when heated, phosphate will not).
RBCs
1) Increased # indicates renal bleed, either glomerular or tubular. Assoc. with casts and proteinuria. 2) Indicates glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis, cystitis, calculi, tumors or trauma. If no casts or proteinuria, bleed is below the kidney or may be contamination.
WBCs
1) Increased # indicates inflammation of urinary tract. 2) Indicates bacterial/parasitic infections or renal diseases (glomerulonephritis, chlamydia, mycoplasmosis, TB, trichomonas, mycoses).
Eosinophils
1) Discrimination of eos from WBCs often impossible. 2) Indicates acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) or chronic UTIs.
Lymphocytes
1) Normally present in urine in small #. Not normally distinguished from WBCs but large # is significant. 2) Present in inflammatory conditions such as acute pyelonephritis or in renal rejection transplant.
Monocytes & Macrophages
1) Increased in viral conditions 2) Drawn to site of inflammation resulting from renal infection or immune reactions.
Transitional Epithelial
1) Indicates inflammation or renal damage if large #. 2) Can be UTI. Clusters/sheets seen after catheritization but if no instrumentation used, indicates a pathologic process.
Squamous Epithelial
1) Not clinically significant. 2) Indicates specimen contamination.
Convoluted Renal Tubular Epithelial
1) Increased in acute ischemic or toxic renal tubular disease. 2) Indicates heavy metal or drug toxicity.
Collecting Duct Renal Epithelial
1) Very significant 2) All types of renal disease (nephritis, acute tubular necrosis, kidney transplant rejection, salicylic poisoning).
Oval fat bodies
1) Indicates glomerular dysfunction with renal tubular cell death & leakage of plasma into urine. Assoc. with proteinuria & casts. 2) Renal tubular cells become engorged with fats from tubular lumen or own degenerating intracellular lipids.
Cytomegalic Inclusion Bodies
1) Indicates viral infection affecting newborns with liver, spleen & blood disorders and adults with Hodgkins, leukemia & aplastic anemia. 2) Viral inclusions found in nucleus of renal tubular epithelial cells.
Hyaline
1) Normal in low numbers. High numbers can indicate strenuous exercise, dehydration, fever, stress, renal disease or congestive heart failure (CHF). 2) Composed of homogenous Tamm-Horsfall (T-H) protein matrix and formed within tubules.
Waxy
1) Indicates urinary stasis 2) Formed when granular cast degenerates as it sits in the renal tubule.
Granular
1) Finely granular in low numbers can be normal. Coarse granular and broad granular indicates poor prognosis. Assoc. with renal tubular epithelial cell casts and proteinuria. 2) Coarse granular results from degeneration of renal cells and other casts. Broad granular indicates renal damage.
Broad
1) Renal Failure, increase # is poor prognosis. 2) Cast forms in dilated convoluted tubules or collecting ducts indicating severe urinary stasis.
Renal Tubular Epithelial Cast
1) Indicates renal tubular disease. Assoc with proteinuria and granular casts. 2) Renal epithelial cells become incorporated into the T-H matrix as it sits in the tubule (urinary stasis).
Red Blood Cell Cast
1) Diagnostic of intrinsic renal disease. Assoc with proteinuria. Occasionally found in healthy people 24-48 hrs after contact sports. 2) RBCs from glomerulus or tubular damage.
Leukocyte (WBC) Cast
1) Indicates renal inflammation or infection. 2) Glomerulonephritis will also have RBC casts; Pyelonephritis will also have proteinuria and hematuria.
Bacterial Cast
1) Not often IDed because difficult to see, diagnostic of pyelonephritis. 2) Usually contains WBCs so often reported as WBC cast.
Fatty Cast
1) Significant renal pathology: nephrotic syndrome or severe crush injury. 2) Usually contained with hyaline or granular matrix and assoc. with proteinuria.
Hemosiderin & crystals
1) Sulfonamide & Ca oxalate most common. Assoc with hematuria. 2) Any substance present in tubular lumen can be in casts.
Pigmented casts
Hb & Myoglobin: yellow to brown with hematuria Bilirubin: all urine sediment will be yellow-golden brown Urobili: yellow-golden but will not color sediment Phenazopyridine (urinary pain killer): brown to reddish brown