The urine is a transparent and yellowish aqueous liquid, with a characteristic odor (sui generis), secreted by the kidneys and eliminated externally by the urinary system. Regarding the main functions of urine, we find:
- Elimination of toxic substances produced by cellular metabolism such as urea, creatinine, uric acid, among others.
- Elimination of toxic substances such as drug intake.
- The electrolytic control, regulating the excretion of sodium and potassium mainly.
- Water regulation or volemia, for the control of blood pressure.
- Control of the acid-base balance.
A general urine test, also called a urinalysis, is a series of tests performed on the urine (macroscopic, physico-chemical and microscopic), constituting one of the most common methods of medical diagnosis. It is considered a renal liquid biopsy that offers excellent information about renal function and acid-base and electrolyte balance; It can also provide data on metabolic alterations and renal and extra-renal pathologies.
This test is made up of several tests that identify the different substances eliminated by the kidney; Its result is of great importance in the initial study of diseases of urinary or systemic origin, this makes it necessary that your data are the most highly reliable and subsequently correctly interpreted since they can offer information as close as the one that delivers a renal biopsy.
It is among the oldest tests of medicine, recognizing that its physical and chemical properties are important indicators of health status. It remains the indispensable cornerstone in the evaluation of the kidney, and as previously mentioned is considered an appropriate screening technique for the finding of renal disorders of the urinary tract and some metabolic alterations. It is used for the detection, diagnosis and monitoring of such disorders.
The conventional manual technique of urine analysis is a procedure that requires time and considerable labor for its realization. As in any manual technique, its standardization is affected by the subjectivity of the analyst, both in the physical-chemical stage and in the microscopic evaluation.
For several years, the study of complete urine evolved to reach, as in many other areas of the laboratory, automation, providing this a series of advantages that increase the efficiency, performance and productive capacity of the study in pursuit of patients, professionals and the laboratory itself. Therefore, entities such as C.L.S.I. (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) recommend using a standardized or automated system for the urine test.
The automation achieves the elimination of possible variations or sources of error such as the volume of urine and sediment to be analyzed, the time and speed of centrifugation, the surface and instrument of counting and the interpretation of what is observed by the personnel.
The daily use of this work system offers several improvements, allowing us to:
- Standardize the study of complete urine.
- Minimize the number of errors or variations inherent in the technique and the analyst.
- Improve workflow.
- Reduce subjective microscopic observation.
- Reduce the time of manual microscopic revision and the repetition of tests.
- Unify the interpretation of the results and criteria of the report.
- Carry out a first test of infection markers, combining five measured parameters, which suggest a low or high probability of presenting a urinary tract infection, providing an additional data to medical behavior.
- Improve the quality of the patients’ results and reduce their delivery time, helping to detect urinary tract infections.
Attentive to these international recommendations, at Kalstein we present you The BC400 urine analyzer is a high-precision instrument based on modern optics, electronics, computers and other advanced technologies for the clinical analysis of urine. Through the detection of several key parameters of this analysis. Which can be widely used in several medical and health departments as one of the main instruments of clinical laboratory. That’s why we invite you to take a look HERE