Positive occult blood in urine = kidney disease? It’s not that simple!

Many people think that occult blood in urine means bleeding in urine, that is, hematuria, which must be a sign of kidney problems. However, occult blood in urine is not necessarily true hematuria. When occult blood in urine is positive but red blood cells in urine are normal, it cannot be called hematuria. Before taking a urine test, if you have taken iron-containing drugs, animal blood, liver and other special foods, it may cause occult blood to be false positive and red blood cells to be negative.

Doctors pay more attention to the microscopic examination of red blood cells. Hematuria refers to the presence of more than 3 red blood cells in each high-power field of view. Various types of kidney diseases may cause hematuria. In addition to kidney disease, surgical diseases such as urinary stones, tuberculosis, tumors, and prostate hypertrophy can also cause hematuria, which requires specialists to identify and analyze according to individual specific conditions.