urinalysis pt 2 Flashcards
Squamous Epithelial Cells in Urine
- appearance
- interpretation
- Are gigantic
- Look for them at 10x
- Note the size of the nucleus and see that there are little WBC adjacent (blue arrows)
- The WBC are ~10 um diameter, so is the nucleus
- Intact male dogs w. squamous metaplasia of prostate
- Endogenous estrogen secretion
Tubular vs Urothelial Cells (Transitional Epithelial Cells)
- where they come from
- how to tell them from WBC
- Renal pelvis, ureters, urinary bladder & urethra
- Larger than WBC
Bacteria in Urine Sediment
- how do we report?
- centrifuge? when do they spin down?
- No standard method for reporting:
> Few > many or present/absent - With regular centrifugation bacteria don’t spin down (ultracentrifuge required) * 10,000 rods or 100,000 cocci / mL are required for them to reliably spin down
Infectious Agents in urine
- are they significant?
- what should we think about?
- yeast? what do we do?
- worms?
- Significance? Are there clinical signs?
- Method of collection – cysto versus voided
- Post-collection interval > keep in mind bacterial doubling times vs how long you took to read sample
- Other UA findings
<><> - Yeast – check age & storage conditions
- Yeast in cat urine > FeLV & FIV testing > immunocompromised
- D. immitus not urinary tract pathogen, but may be present
common urine crystals
- Struvite
- bilirubin
- calcium carbonate
- amorphous
- Calcium oxalate dihydrate
uncommon urine crystals?
- Calcium oxalate monohydrate
- Ammonium biurate
- Cystine
<><><><><>
(- Drug-associated - Other (uric acid, tyrosine, leucine, melamine cynuric acid))
struvite crystals - when are they common? associations?
- Common in cats & dogs w. alkalinuria
> Urine that has sat around (2 & 3)! - May be associated w. urease-producing bacteria (because they convert urea to ammonia)
Bilirubin Crystals - are they ok?
can be but can also not…
Calcium Carbonate - normal in who? appearance?
- Horse
- Guinea pig
- Rabbits
<><><><> - Look like two pom poms stuck together
- Orzo or hempseed
- They go greenish pink at the edge as you focus up and down
Calcium Oxalate Dihydrate
- normal in who?
- can be bad / give us info in what situation?
- Can be seen in normal dogs and cats
- If animal in acute renal failure – these may also be seen with EG toxicity
- generally not bad
Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate
- common in normal?
- what do they mean?
- what do they look like?
they are bad
* Uncommon in normal animals (except horses “hempseed” type)
* High numbers – ethylene glycol toxicosis
* Double-ended picket fence
Ammonium Biurate
- good or bad? breeds?
- what do they mean?
- appearance?
generally bad
* Common: Dalmatians & English bulldogs
* Other breeds of dog and cat: suggestive of liver dysfunction or PSS
* Animal will have high ammonia, high bile acids, and decreased urea
* In real life, they will be brown blobs with no spikes, but on any exam, they will have spikes
Cystine Crystals
- appearance
- how do they arise?
- what do they do?
– 6-sided flat plates
* Inherited defect in renal tubular transport of the amino acid cystine
* Sex-linked / androgen responsive (males)
* Any kind of dog, but often pitbulls
* Tend to form uroliths repeatedly – more problematic in male dogs
* Kidney function appears otherwise normal
Casts
- how do we keep track
- normal number
- Counted as number / LPF (10x mag)
- “Normal” <2/LPF in well-concentrated urine
> Hyaline casts > (Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein)
> Fine granular casts - > 2/LPF is abnormal in well concentrated urine, and in isosthenuric urine
- Absence does not rule out renal disease
Hyaline Casts - how much is too much?
- what do they mean?
- Abnormal when >2/LPF
- Proteinuria of renal or extra- renal disease
> e.g., glomerular disease / Bence Jones proteinuria
