What does cast in urine mean?

Definition. Urinary casts are tiny tube-shaped particles that can be found when urine is examined under the microscope during a test called urinalysis . Urinary casts may be made up of white blood cells, red blood cells, kidney cells, or substances such as protein or fat.

Is cast in urine normal?

Normally, the presence of casts in the urine is considered to be an unusual finding. However, small amounts of hyaline casts (between 0–2 casts per low power field of the microscope) may be detected in the urine of healthy individuals without necessarily indicating a serious condition like kidney disease.

What is cast blood test?

Red blood cell casts mean there is a microscopic amount of bleeding from the kidney. They are seen in many kidney diseases. Renal tubular epithelial cell casts reflect damage to tubule cells in the kidney.

What does high squamous epithelial cells in urine mean?

If there are squamous epithelial cells in your urine, it may mean your sample was contaminated. This means that the sample contains cells from the urethra (in men) or the vaginal opening (in women). It can happen if you do not clean well enough when using the clean catch method.

How do I report a cast to urine?

General interpretation. Casts are quantified for reporting as the number seen per low power field (10x objective) and classified as to type (e.g., waxy casts, 5-10/LPF). Casts in urine from normal individuals are few or none (and are usually hyaline or granular in nature).

How are casts formed in urine?

Casts: Urinary casts are cylindrical structures that are formed from coagulated protein (Tamm-Horsfall protein) secreted by tubular cells. As their name implies, they are usually formed in the long, thin, hollow renal tubules and take their shape. They develop in the distal convoluted tubule or the collecting duct.

What is RBC in urine?

Red blood cells (RBC) can be present in urine even when they are not visible to a person. The medical term for RBC in the urine is hematuria. There are two types of hematuria. One is called “gross hematuria,” which occurs when a person can see the blood in their urine.

What are casts hyaline?

Hyaline casts are formed in the absence of cells in the tubular lumen. They consist of Tamm-Horsfall mucoprotein and have a smooth texture and a refractive index very close to that of the surrounding fluid. They are very difficult to see in wet preparations of urine and must be distinguished from mucus strands.

What is the normal range for squamous epithelial cells in urine?

It’s normal to have one to five squamous epithelial cells per high power field (HPF) in your urine. Having a moderate number or many cells may indicate: a yeast or urinary tract infection (UTI) kidney or liver disease.

What is considered a high WBC in urine?

You’re bound to have a few WBCs in your urine even when you’re healthy, but if a urine test identifies levels above 5 wbc/hpf, it’s likely you have an infection. If bacteria are detected, your doctor may perform a urine culture to diagnose the type of bacterial infection you have.

What are the lab results for a hyaline cast?

Hyaline Cast. Optimal Result: 0 – 1.9 casts/lpf. Urinary casts are tiny tube-shaped particles that can be found when urine is examined under the microscope during a test called urinalysis. Hyaline casts can be present in low numbers (0-1/LPF) in concentrated urine of otherwise normal patients and are not always associated with renal disease.

What kind of microscope is used for hyaline casts?

Hyaline casts are far easier to visualize using phase contrast microscopy, but this is not available on standard microscopes.

Which is the most common type of cast in urine?

Hyaline Casts. Hyaline casts are the most commonly occurring casts in urine. They are composed almost entirely of Tamm-Horsfall mucoprotein. They have smooth texture and a very low refractive index, similar to that of urine in which they are suspended.

What do fatty casts and granular casts mean?

Talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific test results. Fatty casts are seen in people who have lipids in urine. This is most often a complication of nephrotic syndrome. Granular casts are a sign of many types of kidney diseases. Red blood cell casts mean there is a microscopic amount of bleeding from the kidney.