Complete Urine Examination (CUE)
Urinalysis is a test that evaluates a sample of your urine. Urinalysis is used to detect and assess a wide range of disorders, including urinary tract infection, kidney disease and diabetes.
Urinalysis involves examining the appearance, concentration and content of urine. Abnormal urinalysis results may point to a disease or illness. For example, a urinary tract infection can make urine look cloudy instead of clear. Increased levels of protein in urine can be a sign of kidney disease.
Abnormal results of a urinalysis often require additional testing and further evaluation to uncover the source of the problem.
Urinalysis 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.
If your urine is being tested only for urinalysis, you can eat and drink normally before the test. If you are having other tests at the same time, you may need to fast for a certain amount of time before the test. Your doctor will give you specific instructions.
Many drugs, including nonprescription medications and vitamins, can affect the results of a urinalysis. Before a urinalysis, tell your doctor about any medications or vitamins you're taking.
You need to provide a urine sample for urinalysis. Depending on your situation, you may collect the sample at home or at your doctor's office. Your doctor will provide a container for the urine sample. You may be asked to collect the sample first thing in the morning because at that time your urine is more concentrated, and abnormal results may be more obvious.