BIO FPX 1000 Assessment 3

Urinary Analysis: Importance and Clinical Implications

Urinalysis, a diagnostic test, is important for assessing the health of the urinary tract, stomach, kidneys, or any morbidity that has arisen due to diabetes or hypertension (Mayo Clinic, 2019). In this article, the purpose and importance of analyzing urine will be elaborated on, with emphasis on the consequences of avoiding this vital test. It will further discuss various forms of diabetes and their respective treatments. Secondly, the article will discuss why and what happens when traces of blood are found in urine.

Purpose and Importance of Urinary Analysis

Urinalysis, which is a detailed evaluation of urine, is an essential component of routine medical examinations done for health evaluation and detection of diseases (Mayo Clinic, 2021). Analysis is critical in cases where patients have symptoms of painful urination, hematuria, diabetes, kidney problems, liver diseases, or other urinary issues like those detected in pregnancy tests. A urinalysis helps in determining the cause of certain symptoms and signs of related diseases.

Urinalysis may be performed using three approaches: a physical checkup evaluating color, volume, and density; a chemical checkup identifying different components; and a microscopic checkup detecting microorganisms, cells, and crystals in urine (Milani & Jialal, 2021). The samples obtained from urinalysis can reveal more than 220 diseases, which makes it crucial for disease detection, such as diabetes, hypertension, renal, or heart failure.

Diabetes and its Types

Diabetes, which is a serious health condition and a significant influencer of the lives of patients, is caused by insulin deficiency resulting in insufficiency in insulin utilization or insulin production (World Health Organization, 2022). Diabetes leads to such severe complications as renal failure, heart attack, stroke, blindness, and lower limb amputation (World Health Organization, 2022). Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) are the two types of diabetes (Saeedi et al., 2019). Type 1 diabetes is caused by defective insulin-producing cells, whereas type 2 diabetes has been linked with ineffective utilization of insulin, generally compounded by weight gain and inactivity.

Management of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes, a chronic disease, requires proper control by medication and self-management strategies. Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin or gene therapy, such as beta cell replacement therapy. Type 2 diabetes can be well controlled by having ideal body weight, regulating blood pressure, following an active lifestyle, and following a healthy diet, in addition to the use of insulin drugs (Tan et al., 2019).

BIO FPX 1000 Assessment 3 Urinary Lab

Reasons for Blood in Urine

The occurrence of blood in urine is caused by weakening of blood vessels in the kidney due to hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia may cause chronic morbidity, dysfunction, and failure of essential organs such as kidneys, eyes, nerves, heart, and blood vessels (Abebe et al., 2019). Traces of blood cells in the urine can point towards other causes like kidney disease, ureteral problems, or prostatic disease and result in blindness, cardiovascular abnormalities, or ulcers on the limbs (Abebe et al., 2019; American Diabetes Association, 2021).

Patient Results

Anna, a 62-year-old patient from Houston, came to the outpatient facility of the kidney center with reports of hypertension and renal pain. Her history consisted of an 18-year course of type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension. She also underwent an ultrasound of the kidney, ureter, and urinary bladder and a full urinalysis.

As per the reports, walls of the bladder were found to be normal, with pre- and post-void volumes being 684 and 152 ml, respectively. The left kidney showed cortical thickness as 2.0 cm and a size of 10.2 cm, with a visible simple cyst measuring 1.2 cm in the lower pole. Although simple kidney cysts do not necessarily have to be treated immediately, they can be a causative factor for kidney malfunction if not treated, leading to hypertension or renal failure.

Urinalysis Result

Patient name: Anne Hathway

Elevated levels of Urobilinogen and Creatinine indicate a heightened risk of liver and kidney failure.