The kidneys are the bodies way of removing waste materials, fluids and other substances from the body. By testing a patients urine it can give valuable clues as to possible problems that patient may have or it can rule out other possible problems.
When we test urine, this is called Urinalysis.
Urinalysis can be simply done by the use of urine test strips. Urinalysis is carried out when there is a problem but also as routine checks. Urinalysis is also used to check other substances in the urine like legal or illegal drugs and even if the person is pregnant.
The results of Urinalysis are affected by the person’s diet, the medicines they are on, dehydration and many other factors. When samples are taken, it is often required for additional tests so that a good average result can be calculated over a period of time. This will avoid jumping to conclusions with a single test when one result could have been affected by another factor.
The indication of proteins or glucose in the urine may show before the patient is aware of any problem. High levels of glucose in the urine is a sign of potential diabetes. Persistent protein in the urine, over several weeks of tests is one of the earliest signs of chronic kidney disease.
If bacterial or white blood cells are found this could be a sign of a urinary tract infection.
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