Urinalysis results positive for crystals

Urine test is a relatively common experience method, mainly because urine test can effectively reflect the condition of our body. So when your urine routine crystallization is positive, we recommend that you should know its cause so that you can control the disease. There are many reasons for positive crystallization in urine routine test, mainly due to increased urine protein and red blood cells. In fact, there is an infection in the urinary tract, which requires treatment of the urinary tract infection.

Currently, routine urine tests generally include: urine protein (PRO), red blood cells (RBC), urine occult blood (ERY), white blood cells (WBC), urine specific gravity (SG), pH (pH), urine glucose (GLU), nitrite (NIT), ketone bodies (KET), urine bilirubin (BIL), urobilinogen (URO), urine color, urine transparency, casts, etc.

Some items on the urine routine test form are followed by "+", "+++" or other symbols or numbers, indicating different degrees. This is called a positive result in medicine, which is usually abnormal; on the contrary, "-" represents a negative result, which is normal.

1. Urine color

Normal urine is light yellow. Abnormal urine colors include:

1) Dark brown urine bilirubinuria, often seen in hepatocellular jaundice, obstructive jaundice, etc.;

2) Red urine and hematuria are often seen in urinary system stones, tumors, infections (including tuberculosis), etc.;

3) Beer-like to soy sauce-colored urine with hemoglobinuria, seen in favism, etc.;

4) Milky urine, chyluria, and pyuria are common in filariasis, or the urine contains a large amount of inorganic salt crystals.

2. Transparency

Normal fresh urine is mostly clear and transparent. Except for urine that has been left for too long and urine from women, which may be slightly turbid, turbid urine is often caused by urate crystals, chyluria, pyuria, and hematuria.

3. Tube type

Normal urine contains only a very small amount of albumin, no casts, or occasionally a few transparent casts. The presence of casts in urine, especially granular casts and cellular casts, are signs of parenchymal renal lesions and are of great significance for diagnosis.

1) Transparent casts are seen in urine when there are mild or temporary functional changes in the kidneys, such as strenuous exercise, high fever, and heart failure. When there are substantial lesions in the kidneys, a large number of transparent casts can be seen.

2) Red blood cell casts are seen in acute glomerulonephritis, acute tubular necrosis, renal hemorrhage, and acute rejection of renal transplantation;

3) Leukocyte casts are seen in cases of purulent inflammation of the kidneys, such as acute pyelonephritis, interstitial nephritis, etc.;

4) Granular casts are seen in organic renal lesions, such as chronic nephritis and tubular damage caused by drug poisoning;

5) Waxy casts are seen in severe glomerulonephritis and late-stage chronic nephritis. Their appearance indicates that the kidneys have long-term and severe lesions;

6) Fatty casts are the product of fatty degeneration of renal epithelial cells and are seen in chronic nephritis and lipoid nephropathy.

4. Urine specific gravity

Normal range: 1.005-1.030.

Urine specific gravity is affected by age, water intake and sweating, and the urine specific gravity of infants and young children is relatively low. The level of urine specific gravity mainly depends on the concentrating function of the kidneys, so it can be used as one of the renal function tests.

1) Increased oliguria is seen in acute nephritis, high fever, and heart failure; increased urination is seen in diabetes;

2) Decrease is seen in chronic glomerulonephritis, renal insufficiency, diabetes insipidus, and drinking large amounts of water.

5. Acidity and alkalinity

The normal range is 4.6 to 8.0.

The acidity and alkalinity of urine depends largely on the type of diet, medications taken, and the type of illness. Like urine specific gravity, this value is meaningful only in certain diseases.

Pathological acidic urine is seen in diabetic acidosis, hunger, severe diarrhea, respiratory acidosis, fever, etc., while pathological alkaline urine is more common in severe vomiting, persistent hyperexpiration, urinary tract infection, etc.