Urinalysis Flashcards
What is dysuria?
Burning pain when urinating
What is nocturia?
Need to constantly urinate throughout night
What are the 3 most common key signs of UTIs in women?
Dysuria
Nocturia
Cloudy urine
When you skip urinalysis and instead obtain an urine culture for a female patient?
They have at least 2 out of 3 of the most common UTI key signs
When a female patient has 2 out of 3 of the most common UTI key signs, what 2 actions must you take?
Skin urinalysis, instead send urine culture to lab
Start patient on antibiotics
What are the 2 first-line antibiotics used to treat UTIs in men and women?
Oral trimethoprim
Oral nitrofurantoin
If a patient with a UTI has pain, what 2 analgesics can be recommended?
Ibuprofen
Paracetamol
Give 3 examples of non-pharmacological treatment recommendations for UTIs?
Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration
Wipe front to back after defecation
Don’t delay urination
If a female patient has 1 out of 3 of the most common UTI key signs, what test do you perform?
Urine dipstick
Apart from the 3 most common UTI key signs, list 4 other symptoms of a UTI in women?
Suprapubic tenderness/lower abdominal pain
Increased urgency and frequency of urination
Haematuria (blood in urine)
Urine has strong unpleasant smell
Is urinalysis or urine dipstick necessary to confirm an UTI diagnosis?
No, but can provide additional info about underlying conditions
Is urine dipstick equally reliable in men and women?
Much more reliable in women than men
What is the precursor of urobilinogen?
Bilirubin
Where does bilirubin originate from, and how is it converted into urobilinogen?
Bilirubin is a byproduct of RBC death
Bilirubin is transported to liver and becomes bile, bile transported to intestines and changed into urobilinogen by gut bacteria
Is the total amount of urobilinogen produced excreted?
Some is stored in liver and rest is excreted in stool and urine
How does presence of urobilinogen change the visible features of stool and urine?
Urine looks yellow
Stool looks more brown
What proportion of urobilinogen in urine is considered normal?
Normal to have small amount of urobilinogen in urine
Large amount suggests that urobilinogen production has significantly increased
Give 2 examples of underlying conditions that are indicated when there is a large amount of urobilinogen in urine?
Haemolytic disease such as anaemia which is causing more RBCs to die
Hepatitis or cirrhosis, which damages liver so that less urobilinogen is reabsorbed
Give 2 examples of underlying conditions that are indicated where there is very little/no urobilinogen in urine?
Blockage in bile ducts between liver and gallbladder
Blockage between gallbladder and intestines
When are ketones produced in the body?
Produced when fat is used as energy source instead of carbohydrates
What is ketoacidosis?
Metabolic state of excessive ketone levels in blood, which makes it more acidic
How does starvation ketoacidosis occur, and why does this lead to ketonuria?
Body hasn’t received glucose as its primary source of energy for a prolonged period, so uses fat instead
Excess ketones are excreted in urine