Urinalysis or UA is a quick, simple and non-invasive test that is used to evaluate kidney function, diagnose urinary tract infections, and identify some systemic diseases such as lupus.. Depending on your condition, your doctor may prescribe a urinalysis along with a urine culture test... In this article from health magazine, we review the urinalysis, and also answer the question of how to interpret a urinalysis. and what is the difference with urine culture.

What is a urine test?

In urinalysis, the physical, chemical, and microscopic components of urine are checked to assess health status... This test can show signs of kidney disease, urinary tract infections, diabetes, liver failure, or even some rare diseases.

Urine normally contains water, electrolytes and dissolved wastes.... If there is any disorder in the body, there may be some unusual compounds such as protein, sugar, blood, or abnormal cells in the urine. Also, urine test is one of the simple methods to check the health of the body, and it is also performed in the marriage test to ensure the health of the couple and prevent diseases.

What is fasting urine test?

If the doctor just prescribes a complete urinalysis (urine test) or a urine culture, you don't need to be fasting.... In these cases, the doctor just wants to check the general state of the kidneys, infection, sugar, protein or blood in the urine, and the sampling time is not important...

When should you fast for a urine test?

If the urinalysis is combined with blood tests such as fasting sugar (FBS), blood lipids or specific hormone tests, you should do all the tests on an empty stomach.. The duration of fasting is between 8 and 12.. During the fasting period, you can drink water to quench your thirst, but drinking fruit juice, tea and coffee is useful..

Learn more: Bladder cancer symptoms in men

What is a 24-hour urine test?

If your doctor has prescribed a 24-hour urinalysis, that means you need to collect all the urine you pass during the day (24 hours).

Urine naturally fluctuates throughout the day.. For example, excretion of creatinine, urea or protein may change according to the time of day, or some hormones or excretory substances are secreted only at certain hours... Nutrition fluctuations... So if we are to judge based on a momentary sample, we may reach a diagnostic error... 24-hour urine test by recording the total of these changes provides a comprehensive and accurate view of the body's function to the doctor.

What is the difference between urine culture and urine test?

The difference between urine culture and urine test can be summarized in the following 2 cases:

Objective

In urinalysis, the physical, chemical, and cellular characteristics of urine are checked to detect kidney problems, the presence of blood, protein, sugar, or indirect signs of infection. In other words, the following factors are considered in the urine test:

• Color, smell and clarity of urine
• Presence of glucose, protein, blood, nitrite, bilirubin and PH
• Microscopic examination of cells (white and red blood cells), bacteria or crystals

In urine culture, the goal is to accurately detect the presence of bacteria or fungi in urine, to determine the type of microbe and its sensitivity to antibiotics.

Learn more: Tea for urinary tract infection

Clinical application

When you have symptoms such as heartburn, recurrence, or fever, your doctor will usually recommend a complete urinalysis to check for white blood cells, blood, or nitrites in your urine. But if the doctor suspects a bacterial infection and wants to determine the type of bacteria and antibiotics, he prescribes a urine culture test. Urine culture allows the doctor to accurately identify the microbes in the urine and check their sensitivity to drugs. This test takes time and usually takes 24 to 48 hours to prepare the answer...

What is the interpretation of urine test?..

To read the urine test answer, you need to be familiar with the different parts of this test. Urine test usually includes three main parts:

• Physical examination
• Chemical analysis
• Microscopic examination

Each of these parts can give important information about the health of the kidneys, urinary system, or even systemic problems of the body.... For example, in the physical characteristics section, things like color, transparency, and specific gravity are checked.... If you don't know what specific gravity is, it should be said that this indicator shows the concentration of urine and can tell us if the body is a sign of kidney function or not getting enough water..

In the chemical characteristics section, substances such as protein, glucose, ketones, Bilirubin, nitrites and blood are checked.... The positivity of any of these cases may indicate a specific problem in the body such as diabetes, urinary tract infection or kidney dysfunction.

The microscopic part also includes the observation of white and red blood cells, bacteria, crystals and epithelial cells.. Epithelial cells are the cells that cover the inner and outer surface of organs and tissues of the body.. In the urinary system, these cells cover the inner surface of the kidneys, ureter, bladder and urethra.. High values ​​may be a sign of a problem...

In the table below, you can see the interpretation of the urine test based on physical, chemical and microscopic parameters:

Physical parameters of urine test

Urine test chemical parameters

If you have this question, what is the positive sign of glucose in the urine? You should know that this condition usually occurs when the level of blood sugar (glucose) has increased beyond normal... In such a situation, the kidneys are no longer able to completely reabsorb glucose and part of the excess sugar is excreted through the urine.

Microscopic parameters of urine analysis

*Explanation (in any context): When a urine sample is examined under a microscope, it has a microscopic field of view.... Also, the term Trace in the urine test results sheet means the presence of a very small amount of a substance in the urine.

How to take a urine test from a baby?

When a urine test is written in a baby or infant prescription, the most common and least invasive way to collect urine is to use a urine collection bag.. This bag has a clear, flexible body made of medical grade plastic where you can see the urine collected.. It sticks so the urine goes directly into the bag.. In some models, the end of the bag has a valve for easy transfer of urine to the laboratory container.

Performing a urine test on a baby girl

To collect a urine sample from a baby girl, follow the steps below:

• Open the child's legs a little.
• Clean the child's genital area from front to back with sterile gauze.
• Place the adhesive of the bag so that the urethra (above the vaginal entrance) is completely in the center of the opening of the bag.
• Avoid contact of the adhesive with the anus.
• It is better to wrap the baby's legs with a very soft clean diaper (loose and gentle) so that the bag does not move

How to take a baby boy's urine sample

The stages of urine sampling from a baby boy are:

• Clean the child's genital area and its surroundings with sterile gauze.
• Slowly insert the penis into the opening of the bag and stick the adhesive of the bag around the base of the penis.
• Make sure the bag is tight but not pressing on the penis.

Important tips for doing a urine test on babies

For reliable sampling of children's urine, pay attention to the following points:

• If you do not install the bag correctly, urine may leak or the specimen may become contaminated.
• Use each bag only once...
• If the bag becomes contaminated for any reason, such as baby feces, the sample is unreliable and must be repeated.

What does positive protein in urine test mean?

Positive protein in urinalysis means that there is a significant amount of protein, usually albumin, in the urine. Under normal conditions, the level of protein in the urine should be very low or even negligible. This is usually a sign of kidney dysfunction.

Kidneys have the role of filtering the blood and maintaining essential substances such as proteins... When this filter is damaged or its function is impaired, protein leaks from the blood into the urine and appears in the test.... The most common reasons for protein in urine are:

• Kidney diseases such as nephritis or kidney inflammation (nephritis), glomerulonephritis, kidney diabetes or diabetic nephropathy (nephropathy) and chronic blood pressure that damages kidney filters.
• Uncontrolled high blood pressure which can damage the kidneys and increase protein excretion.
• Infection or inflammation of the urinary tract
• Systemic diseasessuch as lupus or other autoimmune diseases that can involve the kidneys.

Also, intense exercise, fever, stress, high heat or standing for a long time also causes temporary protein excretion.

Is urine test done during period?

In general, it is not recommended to perform a urine test during menstruation, except when necessary... During the period, it is possible:

• Menstrual blood is mixed with urine sample, as a result, red blood cells are reported in the test results.... This issue can easily mislead the doctor and the treatment process.
• Cells of the uterine lining enter the sample and distort the microscopic interpretation of the test.
• The possibility of sample contamination with vaginal microbes increases and leads to false positives in urine culture.

What is the difference between blood sugar and urine sugar?

The difference between blood sugar and urine sugar can be different in terms of usage, measurement method and diagnostic value.

Comparison of blood glucose and urine glucose

To test blood sugar, you need a blood sample that is usually taken from the arm vein... This test has several types, the most common of which is fasting blood sugar (FBS).

Use of blood glucose test versus urine glucose test

Blood sugar test is the main indicator for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes.... This test is measured fasting, random or after consuming glucose.

You can only see sugar in the urine when the blood sugar is very high, above the renal absorption threshold, about 180 mg/dL... Therefore, urine test mostly indicates high blood sugar in advanced stages or uncontrolled diabetes.

Which is more accurate.. blood sugar or urine sugar?

Blood sugar test is direct and accurate and is the basis for diagnosing diabetes... On the other hand, urine sugar is indirect and is affected by kidney function... A person may have diabetes, but sugar does not appear in his urine... For example, the patient may have a high renal threshold.

When does the doctor prescribe blood sugar and urine sugar?

If the doctor wants to be sure of diabetes, he prescribes a fasting blood sugar test and a glucose tolerance test or HbA1c.... If the sugar in the urine is higher, it is a warning sign that the blood sugar is probably too high and the kidneys can no longer reabsorb it.

Can pregnancy be detected through urine?

Diagnosing pregnancy through urine is completely possible and is one of the easiest and most common ways to confirm pregnancy....in fact, the first tool used to check for pregnancy is a urine test, either at home with a baby check or in a lab.

When the fertilized egg implants in the uterus (about 6 to 10 days after conception), the placenta begins to produce a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)... This hormone quickly enters the bloodstream and then passes through the kidneys into the urine... Therefore, the presence of the hCG hormone in the urine can indicate pregnancy.

Urine test in several lines

What you see under the name of urinalysis on the result sheet is a collection of physical, chemical and cellular data about your body.... These data, if interpreted correctly, can provide the doctor with very valuable information about the condition of the kidneys, bladder, water level, nutrition, blood sugar and even the liver..

If kidney or urinary tract problems are worrying you and you are looking for expert advice from the best urologist, you can visit the website of GCORP LLC and consult the best specialist doctors, including online urologists, or use the online appointment system to see a urologist in person.

Questions Common