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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffUrinalysis is a common test that's done for several reasons:
- To assess your overall health. Your doctor may recommend urinalysis as part of a routine medical examination, pregnancy checkup, pre-surgery preparation, or on hospital admission to screen for a variety of disorders, such as diabetes, kidney disease and liver disease.
- To diagnose a medical condition. Your doctor may suggest urinalysis if you're experiencing abdominal pain, back pain, frequent or painful urination, blood in your urine, or other urinary problems. Urinalysis may help diagnose the cause of these symptoms.
- To monitor a medical condition. If you've been diagnosed with a medical condition, such as kidney disease or urinary tract disease, your doctor may recommend urinalysis on a regular basis to monitor your condition and treatment.
Other tests, such as pregnancy testing and drug screening, also may require a sample of urine. These tests are separate from urinalysis. They test for substances in the urine that urinalysis typically doesn't include. For example, pregnancy testing measures the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). Drug screening tests are tailored to detect specific drugs or their metabolic products, depending on the purpose of the testing.
- Urinalysis. Lab Tests Online. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/urinalysis/test.html. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- What you need to know about urinalysis. National Kidney Foundation. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/pdf/urinalysis.pdf. Accessed Dec. 12, 2008.
- Stoller ML, et al. Urologic Disorders. In: McPhee SJ, et al. Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2009. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=11917&searchStr=urinalysis. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- Kim HL, et al. Urology. In: Brunicardi FC, et al. Schwartz's Principles of Surgery. 8th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=819033&searchStr=urinalysis. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- Urine tests. KidsHealth. http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/labtest7.html. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- Laboratory diagnosis: Urine studies. In: Gomella LG, et al. Clinician's Pocket Reference. 11th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=11917&searchStr=urinalysis. Accessed Dec. 17, 2008.
- hCG. Lab Tests Online. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/hcg/multiprint.html. Accessed Dec. 23, 2008.
- Testing for drugs of abuse. Lab Tests Online. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/drug_abuse/glance.html. Accessed Dec. 23, 2008.
