CAP Pro Course - Urinalysis - Physical and Chemical Urinalysis (2026 & 2027)

Author: Marjorie Di Lorenzo, MLS(ASCP)SH
Reviewers: Margaret Reinhart, MS, MLS(ASCP) and Joshua J. Cannon, MS, MLS(ASCP)CMSHCM

Continuing Education Credits

Objectives

  • Discuss the proper collection, storage, and handling of urine specimens and describe the physical characteristics of normal and abnormal urine.
  • Describe appropriate storage and handling procedures for reagent strips and list causes of their premature deterioration.
  • Correlate physical and chemical urinalysis results; identify causes of false reagent strip results; and state the confirmatory tests that can be used to demonstrate the presence of or the absence of an analyte that occurs with a false-negative or inconclusive reagent strip result.
  • Identify conditions and diseases in which urine reagent strip test results aid in the diagnosis.

Course Outline

  • Discuss the proper collection, storage, and handling of urine samples and describe the physical characteristics of normal and abnormal urine.
      • Urine Sample Types and Collection Methods
      • Urine Specimen Handling and Storage
      • Physical Characteristics of Urine
      • Physical Characteristics of Urine, continued
      • Which of the following could not cause dark yellow/amber urine?
      • Which of the following will not cause a positive reaction for blood by the reagent strip method?
      • A urine sample from a healthy 45-year-old male patient in the surgical unit arrives in the laboratory at 10:45 AM. The sample was collected at 5:45 AM...
      • Which of the following physical urinalysis descriptions would be consistent with a cloudy, red urine?
      • If a urine specimen is allowed to remain at room temperature for a prolonged period of time prior to testing, how might this affect the result for leu...
      • A dark yellow urine specimen has a specific gravity of 1.005 and a negative bilirubin. Serum liver tests, including bilirubin are normal. Which of the...
  • Describe appropriate storage and handling procedures for reagent strips and list causes of their premature deterioration.
      • Handling and Storage of Reagent Strips
      • Quality Control of Reagent Strips
      • Which of the following accurately describes the proper storage and handling of reagent strips?
      • Which one of the following test values would be negative or falsely decreased if the urine specimen is not mixed prior to reagent strip testing?
      • A reagent strip is dipped into a urine sample and immediately removed without dragging the strip along the sample cup rim. Which negative effect can o...
      • A laboratorian was assigned to perform the quality control for urinalysis. Which of the following is not a correct procedure for quality control of ur...
  • Correlate physical and chemical urinalysis results and identify causes of false reagent strip results and secondary procedures that can be used to demonstrate the presence of, or confirm the absence of, an analyte with a false-negative or inconclusive reagent strip result.
      • Potential Sources of False Results Associated with Reagent Strip Testing
      • Table: Confirmatory Testing for Discrepant Results with Reagent Strips
      • A 25-year-old male patient with type 1 diabetes is seen in urgent care complaining of chills and a burning sensation when urinating. In addition to bl...
      • A 24-year-old female patient presented with symptoms of fever, sore throat, urinary frequency, and painful urination. Her health care provider ordered...
      • You are working in a small but busy laboratory. Your laboratory manager has recently started a conversation about cutting costs and asked all laborato...
  • Identify conditions/diseases in which urine reagent strip test results aid in the diagnosis.
      • Table: True Causes of Positive or Elevated Reagent Strip Test Results
      • Table: True Causes of Positive or Elevated Reagent Strip Test Results, Continued
      • Table: Conditions and Diseases That Produce Positive or Elevated Reagent Strip Test Results
      • Table: Conditions That Affect Specific Gravity and pH
      • A urine sample from a 15-year-old girl with complaints of severe stomach problems and recent weight loss was obtained. Results from the urinalysis wer...
      • A 47-year-old female patient with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain is seen by her physician. She tells the physician that her stool has appeared l...
      • A very sick 9-year-old girl arrives in urgent care with her mother. She has a fever and is very tired and lethargic. Her blood pressure is high, and t...
      • A 21-year-old woman collects a random afternoon urine sample for a pre-employment physical. The reagent strip protein result is 3+. She is asked to co...
      • Urinalysis on a 30-year-old female patient in the sixth month of her first pregnancy showed the following results:Reagent strip results:TestResultRefe...
      • An elevated glucose reading was observed on the reagent strip from a patient with repeatedly normal blood glucose levels. Which of the conditions list...
      • The urinalysis result that was obtained from the urine specimen collected 15 hours post-hemolytic transfusion reaction is shown again here.TestResultR...
      • Which of the following reagent strip results would you expect to be positive or elevated if cellular casts are present in the urine sample?
      • A new employee is seen for a pre-employment physical. The urinalysis is unremarkable except for elevated protein on the reagent strip test. The micros...
  • References
      • References

Additional Information

Level of Instruction: Intermediate
Intended Audience: This program is primarily designed as an educational tool for medical laboratory science students and interns, all MLS, MT, and MLT personnel, pathology residents, and practicing pathologists.
Author Information: Marjorie Di Lorenzo, MLS(ASCP)SH is a medical technologist with 40 years of laboratory experience. She has assumed many roles in her career, first as a staff technologist and moving into roles of laboratory management and education in CLS and MLT programs. She is the co-author for several textbooks and articles on the topics of urinalysis and body fluids. Marjorie is currently the Phlebotomy Technician Program Coordinator at Nebraska Methodist College and an Adjunct Instructor in the Division of Laboratory Sciences at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
The author has no conflict of interest to disclose.  
Reviewer Information:  
Margaret Reinhart, MS, MLS(ASCP) is the MLS Program Director and Senior lecturer in Biological Sciences at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia PA where she teaches hematology, clinical immunology, parasitology, and other related courses. She is also an adjunct instructor in Hematology at Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia PA. She holds a Master's Degree in Biology and in Health Care Administration.
Joshua J. Cannon, MS, MLS(ASCP)CMSHCM received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Medical Laboratory Science from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. He holds Medical Laboratory Scientist and Specialist in Hematology certifications through the ASCP Board of Certification. He was a professor at Thomas Jefferson University for seven years before transitioning into his current role as Education Developer at MediaLab by Vastian. His areas of expertise and professional passions include clinical hematology and interprofessional education.

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