urinalysis Flashcards
what is urinalysis used for?
diagnosis, monitoring and treatment particularly in UTIs and renal as changes in urine are often detectable before problem becomes clinically obvious
what are advantages of urinalysis?
easy to obtain, non-invasive, quick, reliable, low cost
what would you need to perform a urinalysis?
urinary symptoms, possible known conditions, acute illness or routine screening e.g. pregnancy
what specimen types are there and describe these?
there are random - common and convenient, first morning - more concentrated, fasting for glucose, and timed for comparison
what do red, yellow or brown abnormal colours suggest?
red - haemoglobin (beetroot), yellow - bilirubin and brown - myoglobin
what does an ammonia or seet smell signify?
ammonia - infection and sweet - ketones
what is used in the investigation?
Ames strips - react with analysts to produce colour changes - extent of colour change gives an idea of concentration - read between 30 seconds and 2 minutes
what are common issues?
not checking expiry dates, reading upside down or not reading within correct time
what would glucose or bilirubin indicate?
glucose - shows diabetes or reduced renal threshold. bilirubin - hepatic or biliary disease.
what would ketones or specific gravity abnormalities indicate?
ketones - breakdown of FA metabolism. gravity - hydration levels or kidney function
what would blood or pH indicate?
blood - renal, urological disease or infection or trauma, pH - fasting
what would protein or urobilinogen indicate?
protein - hypertension, diabetes, infection, glomerular disease, urobilinogen - liver or red cell destruction
what indicates infection?
leukocyte or nitrites
