Back to basics: the urinalysis: a selected national survey and review

An accurately performed urinalysis is vital to the screening and assessment of renal disease. We sent questionnaires to nephrology training programs throughout the United States and compared techniques described in the responses to standard urinalysis methodology gleaned from literature review. There were notable deviations in performance and interpretation between the nephrologists and the standard urinalysis. It appears that additional emphasis should be place don this basic and important laboratory test. Further study is needed to determine if more accurate performance will influence patient diagnosis and outcome.