Approach to Hematuria

Background and Definitions

Type

Definitions

Gross hematuria

  •  Blood in the urine visible to naked eye
  •  As little as 1 mL of blood/L of urine can cause color change
  •  Typically indicates a lower urinary tract source

Microscopic hematuria

  •  Blood only seen in urine sediment by microscopy
  •  Typically discovered incidentally on urinalysis
  •  > 3 RBCs/high power field (hpf) in urine sediment

Mimics of hematuria

  •  Menstruation
  •  Beet consumption
  •  Pigmenturia (eg, myoglobin)
  •  Medications
      •  Nitrofurantoin
      •  Phenytoin
      •  Pyridium
      •  Rifampin
(Next Lesson) Causes of hematuria
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