Urine
Urine screening
Laboratory screening of ten urine parameters, including protein, glucose, blood cells, nitrite, pH and specific gravity. You collect the sample at home.
€ 35,00
All tests
Urine tests · Urine
Glucose
Sugar in the urine; usually only appears when blood sugar is clearly too high, for example with diabetes.
At a glance
- Measured in urine
- In 1 test panel
- Check the preparation
Explanation
Glucose: what is measured?
The kidneys filter glucose (sugar) from the blood and reabsorb almost all of it. Only when blood sugar rises above a certain threshold can they no longer do this, and glucose ends up in the urine. A positive dipstick therefore mainly says something about blood sugar in the hours before.
What can it detect?
- Blood sugar that is too high, usually due to diabetes
- The normal effect of diabetes medicines of the SGLT2 inhibitor type
- An inherited low kidney threshold for glucose (renal glucosuria), harmless and rare
Result
What does the result mean?
Positive result
Glucose in the urine usually fits blood sugar that is too high, such as with diabetes that has not yet been diagnosed or is poorly controlled; symptoms are then a lot of thirst, frequent urination, tiredness and weight loss. When using an SGLT2 inhibitor (such as dapagliflozin or empagliflozin), glucose in the urine is a normal result of the medicine. During pregnancy, glucose in the urine is more common without diabetes, because the kidney threshold is lower. A harmless inherited low kidney threshold (renal glucosuria) is rare.
Negative result
A negative result is normal. It does not rule out diabetes: blood sugar has to be considerably raised before glucose appears in the urine, and vitamin C can suppress the reaction. Detecting or ruling out diabetes requires a blood test.
After an abnormal result
With a positive result without an SGLT2 inhibitor, the GP has the fasting glucose measured in blood, repeated if needed. According to the Dutch GP guideline (NHG) on diabetes mellitus type 2, the diagnosis is made only with a blood test, not with a urine dipstick.
Reliability
How reliable is the test?
A urine dipstick is a quick screening and not a diagnosis. According to the Dutch GP guideline (NHG) on urinary tract infections, the dipstick is a first step with symptoms that fit a bladder infection; if in doubt, a culture or sediment test follows. For detecting kidney damage, the dipstick is less sensitive than the albumin-creatinine ratio in urine and the eGFR in blood; the NHG guideline on chronic kidney damage is based on those. In people without symptoms, most abnormal dipstick results are temporary or harmless; a single abnormal result therefore says little.
What can affect the result?
- Sample collection: preferably use first morning urine or urine that has been in the bladder for at least 4 hours, and after washing, catch the middle part of the stream (midstream), so that no discharge or skin bacteria get into it.
- Menstruation, and the days before and after it, often gives a positive result for blood and sometimes for leukocytes and protein; it is better to collect at another time.
- Vitamin C (supplements or a lot of fruit juice) can suppress the reaction for blood, glucose, nitrite and bilirubin and give a false negative result.
- Heavy exercise, fever and dehydration in the day before sample collection can temporarily cause protein, blood or ketones. Urine that has been standing for a long time or has become warm gives less reliable results, especially for nitrite, bilirubin, urobilinogen and pH.
Preparation
- Preferably use the first morning urine, or urine that has been in your bladder for at least 4 hours.
- Collect the middle part of the stream.
- Do not collect urine during your period.
Who it is for
Who is the test useful for?
Useful for
Useful with symptoms that may fit a bladder infection, such as frequent and painful urination, or as a simple addition to blood tests for the kidneys, sugar or liver. For detecting kidney damage in diabetes or high blood pressure, the albumin-creatinine ratio in urine says more than the dipstick. In people without symptoms and without risk factors, the chance of a harmless abnormality is greater than the chance of a real condition.
How common is it?
Bladder infection is one of the most common infections in women; in men it is much less common. Chronic kidney damage occurs in about 1 in 10 adults, usually without symptoms. In people without symptoms, an abnormality on the dipstick is found in some, usually without a serious cause.
NHG guideline on urinary tract infections; NHG guideline on chronic kidney damage
Get tested
Glucose: test panels
Glucose is part of these test panels. You order online and have your blood drawn at a collection point or collect the sample at home.
Evidence
Sources
This explanation is based on Dutch guidelines and independent information. It is general information, not a diagnosis. Discuss an abnormal result with your GP.
More about risks and resultsMore explanations
Other tests: Urine tests
- Bilirubin
- Erythrocytes and free hemoglobin
- Ketones
- Leukocytes
- Nitrite
- pH
- Protein
- Specific gravity
- Urobilinogen