Blood in the urine? Check with a microscope
When a dipstick test suggests there's blood in the urine, the next step should be to examine a sample of the urine under a microscope to make sure the dipstick result is accurate, according to medical guidelines — but often the patient is sent directly to see a specialist, or for further testing.
Dipstick tests, in which a narrow strip of plastic is dipped into a urine sample, are very common. Parts of the strip are covered with small squares that turn various colors based on features of the urine, including levels of acidity, proteins, sugar (glucose), and the presence of blood, to name just a few.
The American Urological Association advises that when a dipstick test finds blood in the urine, but the patient is feeling well and has no other symptoms, the result needs to confirmed microscopically before the patient undergoes any further exams, because the dipstick test is not a hundred percent reliable.
The take-home message, Jones said, is that invasive tests and x-rays or other imaging studies should not be done until the dipstick test results have been confirmed under a microscope.
Source: Journal of Urology, February 2010
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