Hematuria

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Hematuria
Classification & external resources
ICD-10 N02, R31
ICD-9 599.7, 791.2

In medicine, hematuria (or "haematuria") is the presence of blood in the urine. It is a sign of a large number of diseases of the kidneys and the urinary tract, ranging from trivial to lethal.

Occasionally "hemoglobinuria" is used synonymously, although more precisely it refers only to hemoglobin in the urine.

Contents

[edit] Types

Red decolouration of the urine can have various causes:

[edit] Analysis

A patient will be asked a number of questions:

  • Have you passed any blood clots?
  • Has a kidney stone been passed (noise in toilet bowl)?
  • Is the red colour mixed in completely, or does the colour change during an episode of urination?
  • Does it occur only after getting up?
  • Have you recently had a sore throat?

[edit] Diagnosis

Often, the diagnosis is made on the basis of the medical history and some blood tests—especially in young people in whom the risk of malignancy is negligible and the symptoms are generally self-limited.

Ultrasound investigation of the renal tract is often used to distinguish between various sources of bleeding. X-rays can be used to identify kidney stones, although CT scanning is probably more precise.

In older patients, cystoscopy with biopsy of suspected lesions is often employed to investigate for bladder cancer.

[edit] Causes

Common causes of macroscopic hematuria (i.e. blood visible in the urine) include: