What diseases can be detected through a routine urinalysis?

Generally, routine urinalysis refers to a standard urine test. A routine urinalysis may help detect diseases such as urethritis, cystitis, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, diabetes, and hyperuricemia. If experiencing discomfort, timely medical consultation is recommended. Detailed analysis is as follows:

1. Urethritis

In routine urinalysis, elevated white blood cell count is an important indicator of urethritis. Normally, the number of white blood cells in urine is low. When the urethra is infected by pathogens such as bacteria, the body's immune system sends white blood cells to fight the infection, leading to increased white blood cells in the urine. In addition, patients may also experience symptoms such as frequent urination, urgency, and painful urination.

2. Cystitis

In patients with cystitis, routine urinalysis may show an increase in red blood cells and white blood cells. This is because the inflammation irritates the bladder mucosa, causing mucosal congestion, edema, and even small blood vessel rupture and bleeding. Patients usually experience symptoms such as lower abdominal pain and burning sensation during urination.

3. Pyelonephritis

Pyelonephritis is a more severe urinary tract infection, usually caused by bacteria ascending from the urethra to infect the kidneys. Routine urinalysis may reveal white blood cells, red blood cells, and possibly bacteria. In addition to urinary symptoms, patients may also experience systemic symptoms such as fever, chills, and back pain.

3. Glomerulonephritis

Glomerulonephritis mainly presents as proteinuria and hematuria. Normally, the glomeruli prevent large molecules such as proteins and red blood cells from entering the urine. When the glomeruli become inflamed, their filtration function is impaired, allowing proteins and red blood cells to leak into the urine. Patients may experience symptoms such as edema and hypertension.

4. Diabetes

When blood glucose levels are excessively high and exceed the kidney's reabsorption capacity, glucosuria occurs, which is an important indicator of diabetes.

5. Hyperuricemia

The level of uric acid in urine can be preliminarily assessed through routine urinalysis. Patients with hyperuricemia may exhibit abnormal uric acid excretion, and urinalysis can help monitor uric acid levels. If uric acid deposits in the kidneys, it may cause gouty nephropathy, at which point urinalysis will also show corresponding changes, such as proteinuria and hematuria.

Routine urinalysis is a simple examination method, but it serves only as a clue for disease diagnosis. If the urinalysis results are abnormal, further diagnosis usually requires combining the patient's symptoms, medical history, and other tests such as blood tests and imaging studies.