- Sediment in the urine - when to test?
- Sediment in urine - how to prepare a sample?
- Sediment in urine - interpretation of results
- Urine sediment - norms
Urine sediment is one of the parameters of the urine general test. It allows to detect in the urine not only the presence, but also the amount of epithelia, rollers, leukocytes, erythrocytes, minerals, as well as to determine whether there are microorganisms in the urinary system.
Contents:
- Sediment in the urine - when to test?
- Sediment in urine - how to prepare a sample?
- Sediment in urine - interpretation of results
- Urine sediment - norms
Sediment in the urineis part of a general urine test that allows you to diagnose not only kidney and genitourinary diseases, as well as detect and differentiate liver diseases (jaundice), diabetes and predisposition to the formation of deposits in the urinary tract.
The urine is 96% water, the rest is urea, mineral s alts and bile pigments.
A he althy person excretes about 2 liters of urine per day. This volume is related to the amount of fluids consumed or the ambient temperature, which allows you to maintain homeostasis, i.e. the internal balance in the body.
You don't need to prepare yourself for a urine test. It is enough to buy a special container in a pharmacy, which for the so-called overall analysis does not have to be sterile. One of the elements of the analysis is the assessment of sediment in the urine. It is worth knowing when to conduct such a test and what its results show.
Sediment in the urine - when to test?
A general urine test with sediment assessment should be performed by each of us once a year, as this allows us to detect ailments that do not yet show any symptoms. More often, but as recommended by a doctor, the examination should be carried out by people who:
- have urinary tract disorders
- kidney stones
- urinary tract infections
- suffer from systemic diseases, e.g. lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or amyloidosis
- have complications after pyelonephritis
- suffer from acute or chronic renal failure
- expectant women
- people who urinate frequently
- with diabetes
- jaundice
- suffering from hypertension
- people with too high or too low blood sodium levels
- obese and elderly people
Sediment in urine - how to prepare a sample?
Before urine testing, ask your doctor if any medications, vitamins or dietary supplements you are taking will affect the test result. This is important because "regular" vitamin C can lead to a false result as it acidifies the urine. The day before the examination, we eat our last meal around 6 p.m.
Urine should be empty.
Before urinating into the container, thoroughly wash the intimate area. The sample must not be contaminated with e.g. soap. Should this be the case, the test result will be falsified.
The urine sample to be used for sediment evaluation should be placed in a sterile container that can be purchased at a pharmacy.
We take a sample from the middle stream, which means that we first pee into the shell, then into the container and then into the shell again.
The sample obtained in this way should be delivered to the laboratory as soon as possible.
Sediment in urine - interpretation of results
The correct interpretation of the obtained results gives an answer to the question about the functioning of individual organs, he alth risks, and also allows you to control the treatment.
The evaluation of the examination should be left to the doctor, because the norms of individual parameters depend on age, sex, pregnancy, high fever, time of day, medications taken and diet from the previous day or, for example, alcohol.
When urine contains:
- bacteria - their presence indicates that they are infected in one of the sections of the urinary system - the urethra, bladder, renal pelvis or kidneys
- protein - may appear at elevated temperature, after a hot bath, after freezing, or after significant physical exertion. When it lasts longer, it suggests kidney or urinary problems
- sugar (glucose) - its presence in several subsequent analyzes indicates diabetes. If a person already has diabetes has sugar in their urine, it means that the disease is not treated properly
- ketone bodies - they indicate disorders of carbohydrate and fat metabolism, and above all, poorly treated diabetes. In a disposable urine sample, the presence of ketone bodies is most often the result of high temperature, vomiting, starvation, or improper dieting. It may also indicate the use of a high-fat diet
- bilirubin - should not be present in a he althy person
- urobilinogen - Is formed from bilirubin and is excreted in the faeces. Only a small amount of it can appear in the urine. Exceeding the norm may indicate hepatitis or cirrhosis. It is also a signal of blockage of the outflow of bile from the liver andgallbladder
- creatinine - with normal kidney function, the amount of creatinine in urine is constant and depends on muscle mass. Decreased urinary creatinine excretion is usually a consequence of acute or chronic renal failure
- epithelium - these are exfoliated squamous cells or epithelial cells from the kidneys and urinary tract. Their presence has no diagnostic significance
- rolls - these are proteins, and their presence in the urine sediment suggests kidney damage. In a he althy person, single rolls may appear after considerable physical exertion. We divide the rollers into several groups and they indicate various ailments.
- vitreous cylinders have no diagnostic significance
- granular rollers - their detection indicates damage to the renal parenchyma
- leukocyte rolls contain white blood cells and are usually found in people with pyelonephritis
- RBCs contain red blood cells or their fragments, which may indicate glomerulonephritis
- epithelial cells contain renal tubular cells, suggesting renal tubular damage
- white blood cells (leukocytes, WBC) - their excessive excretion indicates acute or chronic bacterial urinary tract infection. It can also be a symptom of interstitial nephritis after taking medicines such as cephalosporins, sulphonamides, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. More leukocytes penetrate into the urine during intense physical exertion, high fever, dehydration, chronic circulatory failure,
- red blood cells (erythrocytes, RBC) - the presence of red blood cells in the urine is called hematuria. It is the most common symptom of urinary tract diseases. Haematuria (a small loss of red blood cells invisible to the eye) or haematuria may be caused by damage to the kidneys or other parts of the urinary tract. Common causes of blood in the urine are cancer, kidney stones, and especially an attack of renal colic. But blood in the urine also appears in tuberculosis, blood clotting disorders, circulatory failure and cirrhosis. Taking anticoagulants may also increase the number of red blood cells in your urine.
Determining the degree of leaching (leaching) of red blood cells allows you to determine the place where they come from, we know whether the blood comes from the kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra.
- uric acid - exceeding the norm indicates acute or chronic renal failure, appears after some diuretics, in poisoningcarbon monoxide, lead and in cancer. Reduced uric acid excretion occurs with a diet low in purines. These compounds are found in small amounts in chickens, beef, halibut, mushrooms, asparagus, bread, rolls, groats, fruit, vegetables, nuts
- urea - increased urea content indicates a protein-rich diet, dehydration or kidney failure,
- Urine Specific Gravity - the correct value is 1.016 to 1.022 kg / L. If it is lower, it suggests a disturbance of one of the kidneys' functions, i.e. urine concentrating or their failure. The increase in weight suggests the presence of protein, glucose
- urine reaction (pH) - it should be slightly acidic (the norm is 4.6-7.0). A neutral or even alkaline reaction occurs in people who have kidney stones or a urinary tract infection. It is then necessary to acidify the urine, e.g. by drinking cranberry juice or taking vitamin C. A PH exceeding 7 indicates an infection with mite bacteria (bacteria), which may cause urinary sepsis, an infection leading to failure of many organs
- crystals - the presence of crystals in the urine is called crystalluria. The occurrence of crystals of cystine, tyrosine, xanthine, uric acid, phosphate, urate, calcium oxalate, phosphate, calcium carbonate, magnesium ammonium phosphate depends on the pH of the urine. Determining the nature of the stones allows you to choose a diet that should be followed in the treatment of kidney stones and eliminate the cause of the disease
- mucus in urine - its presence in urine may indicate a urinary tract infection
- microorganisms - microscopic examination of the urine shows the presence of bacteria, micro-parasites and fungal hyphae. Bacteria in the urinary system most often cause inflammation of the urinary tract, mainly the bladder and urethra. Fungal infections of the genital tract can also be caused by Candida, a yeast fungus. The cause of inflammation may be vaginal trichomoniasis, the presence of which is visible under the microscope
Urine sediment - norms
We leave the interpretation of the urine test to the physician as the results are dependent on age, gender and general he alth.
For your peace of mind, however, it is worth knowing that the description of the correct result should contain the following information:
- erythrocytes - 3-4 in the field of view
- leukocytes - 4-5 in the field of view
- bacteria in urine - absent
- flat epithelium - 3-5 in the field of view
- round epithelium - absent
- rolls (vitreous - 2-3 in the field of view; granular, leukocyte rolls,erythrocytes, epithelial cells - absent)
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