Blood in the urine (haematuria)

Blood in the urine is a worrying symptom for patients to discover. In the majority of situations, visible blood requires an urgent or fast track referral to a Urologist for evaluation. Non visible haematuria (NVH) is when the patient does not see the blood, but it is picked up on a urine dipstick test.
There are many potential causes for blood in the urine, ranging from the benign (non-cancer) and less harmful such as urine infections/cystitis, through to more potentially harmful benign conditions such as kidney stones, and also occasionally more serious causes such as bladder or kidney cancer. The latter causes, although less common, are one of the reasons why GPs urgently refer patients with blood in the urine. Mr Forster investigates patients with blood in the urine with clinical evaluation, blood and urine tests, endoscopic procedures (diagnostic flexible cystoscopy) and radiological imaging which is usually with Ultrasound or CT scanning.
Further information is available at www.baus.org.uk/patients/conditions/2/blood_in_the_urine_haematuria