urine analysis

1. Urine analysis part1
Name:Eman Youssif

2. Why is urinalysis performed?
1.It is a part of a routine medical examinations, especially in people who are:
1. Pregnant
2. Pre-surgery preparation
3. Hospital admission
2.It helps diagnose a particular medical conditions such as:
1. Urinary tract infection
2. Diabetes mellitus
3. Kidney-related diseases
4. Liver-related diseases (2, 3)
3.It helps in monitoring the patient’s medical condition, especially those undergoing
treatments for the conditions mentioned above. It helps assess whether the
treatment the patient currently receives is effective.

3. What is being checked in
urinalysis?
•Presence of cells
•Cellular fragments
•Byproducts of both normal and abnormal metabolisms
•Bacteria

4. Checking the composition
of urine
Visual examination/physical examination
It checks the color and clarity of urine.
Chemical examination
It checks for chemical substances that might be present in urine, which
aids in checking the person’s health condition, urine concentration, and the
existence of a particular disease.
Microscopic examination
It counts the components of urine in detail such as the type of cells present,
crystal formation, cast, bacteria, mucus, and other components.

5. A chemical analysis of urine using a urine test strip
A urine test strip using a dipstick is one of the commonly used methods of
checking the chemical components of urine. The strip has squares of different
colors attached to it. The whole strip is dipped in the urine sample and you have
to watch out for changes in colors of each square.
It would only take a few seconds to notice the changes in color. It is a must to
observe the proper time of dipping and reading the result as too early or too
long could lead to an inaccurate result.

6. What is checked during urinalysis?
1.Acidity of urine – The pH level of urine is checked to determine if you are suffering from urinary tract infection or
kidney-related conditions.
2.Urine concentration/specific gravity – it checks how concentrated the urine is. If the urine concentration is higher
than normal, then it is an indicator that you are not drinking enough fluids.
3.Protein – It is just normal to have a low protein in the urine. However, if there is a large number of protein in the
urine, it is an indicator of a kidney-related problem.
4.Sugar – if there is moderate to a huge number of sugar in the urine, it is indicative of diabetes. Hence, additional
testing will be needed to confirm the condition of the patient.
5.Ketones – Any amount of ketone in urine could be a sign of diabetes mellitus. Hence, additional testing is needed.
6.Bilirubin – it is a byproduct of the breakdown of red blood cells. Bilirubin is carried in the blood and passed into the
liver for excretion and become a part of the bile. If bilirubin is detected in urine, it might indicate a damage to the
liver/liver-related diseases.
7.Nitrites/leukocyte esterase – leukocyte esterase and nitrites are products of white blood cells and if they are
detected in urine, it could be a sign of urinary tract infection.
8.Blood – The presence of blood in urine can be very alarming. It could indicate a blood-related disorder, kidney or
bladder stone, kidney damage, infection, or cancer in the kidneys or bladder. However, it is not an indicative sign.
Additional testing should be done to confirm the diagnosis.

7. Microscopic examination of
urine
Drops of urine are examined under the microscope to check for
the following:
•White blood cells/leukocytes – It is a sign of infection
•Red blood cells/erythrocytes – It could be a sign of a possible
blood disorder, bladder cancer, or kidney-related diseases.
•Yeast/bacteria – it could suggest an underlying infection.
•Casts – It is a tube-shaped protein which could indicate an
underlying kidney disorder.
•Urinary Crystals – It could be an indicator of kidney stones.

8. Cells that can be checked in urinalysis
1.There are a number of cells that can be detected in a routine urine test.
These include red blood cells, white blood cells, and epithelial
cells.Epithelial cells – They are cell linings found in different parts of the
body, specifically in the skin, vagina, ureter, urethra, and bladder. If there’s
epithelial cells in urine, it could be associated with infection or inflammation
of the bladder or urethra.
2.Red blood cells/erythrocyte – It could indicate bleeding in the lower part
of the urinary tract, especially in the ureter, urethra, and bladder.
White blood cells/leukocytes – The presence of white blood cells in urine
could indicate a urinary tract infection. The suspicion can be confirmed if
aside from white blood cells, there are other components present like
bacteria, nitrite, and leukocyte esterase.

9. Test for sugar - benedict’s test
Benedict’s test is used as a simple test for reducing sugars. A reducing sugar is a
carbohydrate possessing either a free aldehyde or free ketone functional group as part
of its molecular structure. This includes all monosaccharides (eg. glucose, fructose,
galactose) and many disaccharides, including lactose and maltose.
Benedict’s test is most commonly used to test for the presence of glucose in urine.
Glucose found to be present in urine is an indication of Diabetes mellitus

10. Procedure
Take 5 ml (one teaspoon) of Benedict’s solution in the test-tube.
 Holding the test-tube with the holder, heat it over a spirit lamp till the Benedict’s
Solution boils without overflowing.
 Drop 8 to 10 drops of urine into the boiling Benedict’s solution.
 After again boiling the mixture, let it cool down.
 While cooling, the mixture changes color.
 Observe the color change and precipitate formation and analyze the test result

11. Result interpretation
The colour of the mixture serves as a guide to the amount of sugar in the
urine :

12. Test For Albumin
Fill three-fourth of a test tube with filtered urine (filtering removes pus if present).
 See the reaction of the urine is acidic. If found alkaline, add one drop of acetic acid and make it acidic.
 Heat the upper third of the urine over sprit lamp and allow it to boil.
 A cloud may appear either due to phosphate or albumin.
 Add acidic acid drop by drop in to the test tube.
 If the urine is still cloudy it indicates the presence of albumin.
 If it becomes clear it indicates the presence of phosphates.
 No albumin is presence in the normal urine.
 If the urine is highly acidic or highly alkaline, the reading will be false.

13. Test For Bile Salts (Hey’s Test)
Take a test tube, half full of urine.
 Sprinkle sulphur powder on the surface of the urine.
 If the powder sinks down to the test tube, it indicated the presence of
bile salts.
 This is because, bile salts reduce the surface tension of the urine and
allows the sulphur powder to sink down

14. Test for Bile Pigments
Fill three-fourth of a test tube with urine.
 Add iodine drops along the sides of the test tube, so as to form the layer on the surface of the urine.
 A green color at the junction of the two liquids indicates the presence of bile pigments.
 Discard the urine and clean the test tube.

15. References
https://laboratoryinfo.com/urinalysis-urine-test/