Nephrology Specialist Doctor Kadir Gökhan ATILGAN; It informs us about hematuria that we notice in our urine or that we are aware of after urinalysis.
Hematuria; The presence of blood in the urine, literally, is a condition that men and women of all ages can encounter. This situation can be caused by any of the kidney-ureter-bladder-urethra system, which we call the urinary tract. It is usually an innocent situation. It may occur randomly in routine check-up tests, which we call screening tests. Or, the person applies to our polyclinics when he notices the appearance that he describes as the color of cola and/or the color of meat churning water in his urine. We call the hematuria we detect in the assays “microscopic”, and the situation that makes the person realize and need to go to the doctor as “macroscopic” or “gross” hematuria.
Most of those who are noticed are innocent. A lot of people are living their lives without doctor’s control without being aware of the fact that they have microscopic hematuria. The lucky ones can continue their lives without any problems, but they can see a big problem in its advanced stages that can be detected at the earliest and can be solved with early intervention.
If we examine the reasons:
1- It can progress with urinary tract infection, it is usually accompanied by abdominal pain, fever and burning in urination. It can be microscopic or macroscopic.
2- It can be seen in urinary tract infection, including the kidney, which we call “pyelonephritis”, popularly known as nephritis. In addition to the findings and complaints in the previous article, there are findings that can be detected by the physician, which we call chills-chills and costovebral angle sensitivity.
3- It is seen in the detection of stones or calculus in the kidney or other levels of the urinary tract, which we call “nephrolithiasis”, “urolithiasis” in medicine. Urinary tract infection symptoms may be added. Pain radiating to the back and groin helps in the diagnosis.
4- “glomerulonephritis”, which we can describe as inflammatory diseases of the kidney, is another cause of hematuria. Hematuria is usually macroscopic, foaming in the urine, swelling in the hands, face and feet are its prominent symptoms and signs.
5- Transient innocent hematuria may occur after strenuous exercise sessions or serious injuries. Hematuria does not persist and is painless if the described conditions do not recur.
Hematuria can also be seen in 6-advanced male patients in the presence of a prostate that has enlarged enough to require surgery.
7- In cancers of bladder, kidney and prostate tissue, hematuria accompanies.
In addition, false hematuria can be seen in urinalysis performed in women who do not remind that they are on their menstruation period, in those who consume foods containing food dyes excessively, in cases with increased muscle breakdown (after strenuous physical exercise, blunt trauma due to some drugs).
Generally, screening tests include inexpensive and readily available urine tests, blood tests, and urinary ultrasonography. In advanced cases, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging and even interventional procedures called cystoscopy and biopsy may be required.
When it comes to treatment, it usually includes the treatment of the underlying condition, which we call cause-oriented treatment. In the detection of the condition we call glomerulonephritis by renal biopsy, we add the preparations we call immunosuppressive agents to our treatment.
We recommend that our patients come to our polyclinic controls every 3-6 months in our patients who cannot be attributed to any cause in the analysis and who do not have sufficient conditions for biopsy.
