What Is Hematuria?
Hematuria is the presence of red blood cells in the urine.
Hematuria can be either:
Microscopic – not visible to the naked eye
Macroscopic – visible to the naked eye
Hematuria is the presence of red blood cells in the urine.
Hematuria can be either:


Microscopic Hematuria
Microscopic hematuria occurs in 2-5% of people in the community. It can be normal to lose red blood cells in the urine, but not enough to show up in tests. Microscopic hematuria is defined as when a urine sample is seen under a microscope there are more than 3 red blood cells per high power field view in 2 out of 3 urine specimens.
Macroscopic Hematuria
This occurs when there is more than 1ml of blood in urine. However, not all red coloured urine is due to blood. Urine can also appear red:




Causes Of Hematuria
There are many possible causes of hematuria ranging from the trivial to the lethal. Some of the more common causes include:






Diagnosis
Regardless of the type of hematuria, persistent hematuria requires investigation in order to exclude any possible serious underlying causes such as cancer.
Macroscopic hematuria
About 20% of patients with macroscopic hematuria have underlying cancer as the cause. Tests performed are:

Microscopic hematuria
About 2 to 3% of patients with microscopic hematuria have underlying cancer as the cause. While CT IVP can be done in this setting an alternative is:


To find out more about Flexible Cystoscopy (Male)
To find out more about Flexible Cystoscopy (Female)
Treatment
Treatment depends on cause identified and if a cause is found it is dealt with appropriately. If no cause is found further treatment is not required.