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Urology (Expert Forum)
testing for hematuria
Questions in the Urology forum are answered by Dr. Stephen Liroff, affiliated with the Henry Ford Hospital. Topics covered include benign prostate disease, penis curvature, cystisis, kidney stones, pediatric urology, prostate, sexual dysfunction, urinary tract infections (UTI), and urological cancers.
testing for hematuria
by Ruth, Aug 29, 1999 12:00AM
I am presently on chemo-cytoxan( for Lupus) and have to regularly test my urine here at home. I am using the multistix by Bayer.
Last week I tested my sons urine ( he is 7) with the test strip as he has been complaining of some back pain- ANYWAY-- it showed positive for the non- hemolyzed blood on the test strip. I have repeated this several times and most of the specimens show blood-
SO we took a sample in to his pediatrician and they tested it and said there was no blood- they said they use a machine to test it. The tests I do here at home clearly show blood but the docs office says that there is no blood.
He is going to be going to a rheumatologist next week for some other problems that he is having . I am going to ask them to test there but was wondering if you would have any suggestions as to why it shows up on the strips here at home and not on the doctors office lab testing?? Thank you for your time!!
Last week I tested my sons urine ( he is 7) with the test strip as he has been complaining of some back pain- ANYWAY-- it showed positive for the non- hemolyzed blood on the test strip. I have repeated this several times and most of the specimens show blood-
SO we took a sample in to his pediatrician and they tested it and said there was no blood- they said they use a machine to test it. The tests I do here at home clearly show blood but the docs office says that there is no blood.
He is going to be going to a rheumatologist next week for some other problems that he is having . I am going to ask them to test there but was wondering if you would have any suggestions as to why it shows up on the strips here at home and not on the doctors office lab testing?? Thank you for your time!!
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS M.D.-BE, Sep 03, 1999 12:00AM
=============================================
Dear Ruth,
The use of Multistix to determine the presence of blood in urine is a good test, but it is not foolproof. The best way to see if blood is present is by doing the test in a lab, where someone actually looks at the specimen under the microscope as well as doing chemical analysis to determine the abnormalities, if any. There are variables to consider with use of Multistix, like the exact timing of checking the strip, whether or not other reagents have been allowed to run down the stick onto the other reagents (this makes it possible that the other chemicals mix with each other and change the readings), and the age of the dipstick and whether or not they are exposed to open air for long periods of time, and the freshness of the urine. Even if the Multistix show blood, you would still want it checked out by the lab. You might want to ask your son's physician to test his urine again (perhaps getting a fresh specimen at the office rather than bringing one with you, since the container can also taint the specimen).
When the dipstick reads blood where there actually is no blood present is referred to as false positive. Other causes of a false positive results are: ingestion of large amounts of vitamin C, ingestion of other vitamins and foods with high concentration of oxidants, dehydration which results in urine with high concentration, and exercise.
I would suggest that you follow up on this with your child's doctor; however, if your child is having other symptoms that would be suggestive of kidney or bladder problems, you may want to see a urologist. There are pediatric urologists who specialize in children's uro
Dear Ruth,
The use of Multistix to determine the presence of blood in urine is a good test, but it is not foolproof. The best way to see if blood is present is by doing the test in a lab, where someone actually looks at the specimen under the microscope as well as doing chemical analysis to determine the abnormalities, if any. There are variables to consider with use of Multistix, like the exact timing of checking the strip, whether or not other reagents have been allowed to run down the stick onto the other reagents (this makes it possible that the other chemicals mix with each other and change the readings), and the age of the dipstick and whether or not they are exposed to open air for long periods of time, and the freshness of the urine. Even if the Multistix show blood, you would still want it checked out by the lab. You might want to ask your son's physician to test his urine again (perhaps getting a fresh specimen at the office rather than bringing one with you, since the container can also taint the specimen).
When the dipstick reads blood where there actually is no blood present is referred to as false positive. Other causes of a false positive results are: ingestion of large amounts of vitamin C, ingestion of other vitamins and foods with high concentration of oxidants, dehydration which results in urine with high concentration, and exercise.
I would suggest that you follow up on this with your child's doctor; however, if your child is having other symptoms that would be suggestive of kidney or bladder problems, you may want to see a urologist. There are pediatric urologists who specialize in children's uro
