UROLOGY EXPERT FORUM
Slow hematuria treatment

Slow hematuria treatment


  My father first noticed blood in his urine on July 6.  Went to dr. for treatment and was told there was nothing wrong.  Week later started to feel side pain.  Went back to dr. who administered an IVP on July 24.  On July 25 was rushed to ER in severe pain, diagnosed finally with 2 infected kidney stones.  Given antibiotic and painkillers and told to drink water.  IVP results were negative for stones.  Still in pain and returned to ER on August 7, where 2 stones (3mm) finally showed up on a CT scan.  Again sent home to drink water.  Due to our impatience with the wait and see attitude of this dr, we switched to another.  Now we are waiting for a cystoscopy to be performed next week.  I'm wondering if anyone else thinks that treatment has been delayed too long in this case and can anyone tell me how much more pain my father will endure with the cystoscopy?  And does this sound like "just" kidney stones?  He's lost almost 15 pounds in the last month alone.  Shouldn't a cystoscopy have been performed already?
  Thanks.
------------------------------------------------------
Dear SDV,
Hematuria is the medical term for your fathers condition.  It is important to have a microscopic cell count done to determine if this amount of hematuria needs to have a full work-up.  Above 3 RBC/HPF is suggestive of significant hematuria that needs work-up.  
A full work -up consists of a history and physical to direct the studies ,an IVP which has already been done not showing stones and I presume negative for any anatomic abnormalities, a cystoscopy which should be done by a urologist to rule out bladder cancer, and a cytology looking for cancerous cells in the urine.  A significant number of patients at our institution have some pathology causing their hematuria.  In this case you have documented stones on CT scan.
Considering the symptoms that your father has, I agree that a stone could account for the blood in the urine and the pain.  Some stones are made of uric acid and are not seen on IVP. This may explain why the stones were not initially diagnoses and the CT scan finally picked them up..
Another possible diagnosis would be bladder cancer.  Some times bladder cancer presents with blood in the urine and irritative symptoms similar to a stone.  This is why we perform cystoscopy, to rule out any suspicious lesions in the bladder.  The cystoscopy also allows the urologist to examine the anatomy of the bladder and position of the ureteral openings in the bladder.
The reason your doctor has probably given him pain medication and told him to drink fluids is he thinks the stones are going to pass on there own.  About 95% of stones less than 5mm that are in the distal ureter will pass on there own.  As long as your father is keeping down fluids and his pain medication, I don
Related Discussions
Continue discussion Blank
Go
MedHelp Health Answers
Submit
Blank
Weight Tracker
Reach your weight goal faster
Start Tracking Now
RSS Expert Activity
1741471_tn?1329053231
Blank
Love, endorphins and biochemistry. ... Blank
18 hrs ago by Michael Gonzalez-WallaceBlank
1684282_tn?1311133646
Blank
Pregnancy and Addiction
Feb 14 by Julia M Aharonov, DOBlank
514494_tn?1329196433
Blank
What's the Best Type of Mattress?
Feb 13 by Adam Tanase, D.C.Blank