Laboratory testing may add some insights as to the cause of the hematuria. It also gives us information as to the general health of the urinary system and the patient.
Urinalysis is the microscopic evaluation of the urine. A man is able to give a clean catch urine specimen for examination. For a woman patient, we prefer to obtain the urine by urethral catheterization, which involves inserting a thin tube into the urethra under sterile conditions and then removing the tube after the urine is collected.
The color gives us information as to how much blood is in the urine.
The urine pH measures the acidity of the urine. Certain stones form only under certain conditions of acidity.
The specific gravity measures how concentrated or dilute the urine is at a given time. This tells us how well hydrated the patient is at the time of the office visit.
The amount of protein informs us of the health of the kidneys.
The amount of glucose tells us whether the patient is diabetic or not.
The presence of inflammatory cells and bacteria signify a urinary tract infection.
The presence of red blood cells confirms that blood is present in the urine. If red blood cells are not present, then the hematuria may be intermittent (occurring at certain times and not at other times) or the red color of the urine is due to causes other than bleeding (such as myoglobinuria from muscle breakdown or discoloration from certain foods or medications).
Urine cytology is the examination of the cells in the urine. If cancer is present in the urinary tract, the abnormal cells may be detected in the urine.
Blood tests tell us how well or how poorly the kidneys are functioning. Blood tests can also tell us whether the patient is anemic or not.