Honors Urinalysis Home Middle Aged Woman Case Study Teenage Boy Case Study |
Middle-Aged Woman with Dark Urine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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5. Is it possible the protein is a false positive or at least higher than it should be? Should a confirmatory test for protein be performed? The protein pad uses
buffers
to keep its pH at 3, and when protein is present hydrogen ions get
released from the indicator, changing the pH and therefore the color on
the pad. In heavily alkaline solutions, the pH buffer will become
overwhelmed and cause a false positive. Also, a large blood result will
have an effect on the protein stix even though they normally detect
solely albumin. These two factors may account for the elevated protein.
In order to make sure there is really protein in the urine, the SSA
test should be performed.
A 35 year old woman went to the doctor complaining of fatigue, shortness of breath, and dark urine. Her skin was very pale, and the whites of her eyes were slightly yellow. She reported recently having a sinus infection which was treated with penicillin. Urinalysis results are:
Microscopic amorphous 2+ hemosiderin granules present Upon receiving the urinalysis results, the physician orders a blood test for haptoglobin which comes back less than 5 mg/dL (reference range = 26-185 mg/dL). |