What Is a Urinalysis Test?

May 8, 2023

A urinalysis (UA), as the name suggests, is a test of urine. It can indicate signs of a wide range of conditions, including urinary tract infection, kidney disease, diabetes, liver disease, sickle cell anemia, lupus, leukemia, and arthritis. Below are the individual tests of a urinalysis and their normal ranges.

Chemistry Normal Results
Color Straw
Turbidity Clear
pH (acidity) 5 to 9
Specific gravity 1.003 to 1.030
Protein Negative
Glucose (sugar) Negative
Ketones Negative
Bile Negative
Urobilinogen Trace to 1 mg/dL
Blood Negative
Leukocyte esterase Negative
Nitrite Negative

Sometimes a urinalysis includes microscopy, which is a microscopic examination of what is present in your urine. Microscopy is either ordered by the physician, or automatically ordered as a “reflex” due to one or more abnormal chemistry results. Below are the individual tests of microscopy and their normal ranges:

Microscopy Normal Results
White blood cells 0 to 5
Red blood cells 0 to 4
Casts 0 to 1
Squamous cells 1 to 5
Transitional cells 0 to 2
Bacteria 0 to occasional

Interpretation of these results may be very challenging, and often depends on the patient’s symptoms.

Where can you get a urinalysis done?

Many patients can have problems getting timely appointments with doctors. QuickMD now lets you order your own urinalysis (UA) online. One of the QuickMD physicians will contact you with the results. If they are abnormal he or she will discuss the next steps with you. Choose the labs you would like to order here and go to your nearest LabCorp.

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