What should I do if my urine test shows an increased number of red blood cells?
Disease description:
My grandfather recently experienced lower back pain, along with urinary urgency and dysuria. My father took him to the hospital for routine examinations, and the urinalysis revealed an increased number of red blood cells (RBCs), while all other test results were normal. What should we do about the elevated RBC count in the urine?
Doctor's answer (2)
Dr. Zhang Min
Urinalysis revealing an elevated red blood cell (RBC) count is commonly associated with conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, cystitis, urethritis, vaginitis, acute glomerulonephritis, and malignant tumors. In other words, microscopic hematuria—i.e., RBCs detected in urine without visible blood—may result from bleeding caused by certain diseases, manifesting as urinary tract symptoms; this finding, identified via routine urinalysis, serves as an important clinical diagnostic clue. Such findings are often attributable to inadequate rest and excessive physical strain in daily life.
