In: Nursing
A urinalysis is a test of your urine. A urinalysis is used to detect and manage a wide range of disorders, such as urinary tract infections, kidney disease and diabetes.
A urinalysis involves checking the appearance, concentration and content of urine. Abnormal urinalysis results may point to a disease or illness
higher than normal concentration often is a result of not drinking enough fluids. Protein. Low levels of protein in urine are normal. Small increases in protein in urine usually aren't a cause for concern, but larger amounts may indicate a kidney problem.
Reference Range
Normal values are as follows:
Color – Yellow (light/pale to dark/deep amber)
Clarity/turbidity – Clear or cloudy
pH – 4.5-8
Specific gravity – 1.005-1.025
Glucose - ≤130 mg/d
Ketones – None
Nitrites – Negative
Leukocyte esterase – Negative
Bilirubin – Negative
Urobilirubin – Small amount (0.5-1 mg/dL)
Blood - ≤3 RBCs
Protein - ≤150 mg/d
RBCs - ≤2 RBCs/hpf
WBCs - ≤2-5 WBCs/hpf
Squamous epithelial cells - ≤15-20 squamous epithelial cells/hpf
Casts – 0-5 hyaline casts/lpf
Crystals – Occasionally
Bacteria – None
Yeast - None
Urinalysis is a series of tests on your pee. Doctors use it to check for signs of common conditions or diseases. Other names for it are urine test, urine analysis, and UA.
You may have a urinalysis as part of a routine check of your overall health, for instance as part of an annual physical. Urinalysis is one way to find certain illnesses in their earlier stages. They include:
Kidney disease
Liver disease
Diabetes
Doctor may also want to test your pee if you’re getting ready to have surgery or are about to be admitted to the hospital. Urinalysis can be part of a pregnancy checkup, too.
If you have symptoms of a kidney or urinary tract problem, you may have the tests to help find out what the problem is. Those symptoms include:
Pain in your belly
Pain in your back
Pain when you pee or needing to go frequently
Blood in pee
There are three ways to analyze urine, and your test might use all of them.
One is a visual ,which checks the color and clarity. If your pee has blood in it, it might be red or dark brown. Foam can be a sign of kidney disease, while cloudy urine may mean you have an infection.
A microscopic checks for things too small to be seen otherwise. Some of the things that shouldn’t be in your urine that a microscope can find include:
Red blood cells
White blood cells
Bacteria
Crystals (clumps of minerals – a possible sign of kidney stones)
The third part of urinalysis is the dipstick test, which uses a thin plastic strip treated with chemicals. It’s dipped into your urine, and the chemicals on the stick react and change color if levels are above normal. Things the dipstick test can check for include:
Acidity, or pH. If the acid is abnormal, you could have kidney stones, a urinary tract infection (UTI) or another condition.
Protein. This can be a sign your kidneys are not working right. Kidneys filter waste products out of your blood.
Glucose. A high sugar content is a marker for diabetes.
White blood cells. These are a sign of infection or inflammation, either in the kidneys or anywhere else along urinary tract.
Nitrites. This means that there is an infection with certain kinds of bacteria.
Bilirubin. If this waste product, which is normally eliminated by your liver, shows up, it may mean your liver isn’t working properly.
Blood in your urine. Sometimes this is a sign of infections or certain illnesses