Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Entries Tagged ‘Urinalysis’

Azotemia (Elevated Blood Urea Nitrogen Level) and Renal Failure

Many use the term “uremia” as a synonym for azotemia, although uremia is a syndrome and should be defined in clinical terms. A BUN level of approximately 100 mg/100 ml is usually considered to separate the general category of acute reversible prerenal azotemias from the more prolonged acute episodes and chronic uremias. In general, this […]

Urinalysis in Miscellaneous Diseases

Fever. Fever is the most common cause of proteinuria (up to 75% of febrile patients). If severe, it may be associated with an increase in hyaline casts (etiology unknown, possibly dehydration). Cystitis-urethritis. Cystitis and urethritis are lower urinary tract infections, often hard to differentiate from renal infection. Clumping of WBCs is suggestive of pyelonephritis but […]

The Kidney in Disease

Primary glomerular renal disease for a long time was subdivided into glomerulonephritis (acute, subacute, chronic) and the nephrotic syndrome, based on clinical and light microscopic findings. With the advent of renal biopsy, electron microscopy, and immunoglobulin fluorescent staining of tissue sections, the clinical categories are being reclassified on the basis of ultrastructure and immunologic characteristics […]

Appearance

The appearance of the specimen is usually reported only if it is abnormal. Red: Blood; porphyria; occasionally urates, phenolphthalein, or dihydroxyanthraquinone (Dorbane) (laxative use) Brown: Blood (acid hematin); alkaptonuria (urine turns brownish on standing); melanin (may be brown and turn black on standing) Dark orange: Bile, pyridium (a urinary tract disinfectant) pH Normal urine pH […]

Urinalysis

Urinalysis is an indispensable part of clinical pathology. It may uncover disease anywhere in the urinary tract. Also, it may afford a semiquantitative estimate of renal function and furnish clues to the etiology of dysfunction. Certain systemic diseases may produce quantitative or qualitative alterations of urine constituents or excretion of abnormal substances, quite apart from […]

Hemolytic Reactions

The presence of unexpected alloantibodies (antibodies against red cell antigens) in patient serum found in pretransfusion screening of recipients is 0.7%-1.6%. This averages 9% (range, 6%-36%) in multitransfused patients. Infants less than 4 months old usually do not form alloantibodies against transfused red cell antigens that they lack. After that, age per se does not […]