[Development of a new technique to detect the laterality of microscopic hematuria by means of gas cystoscopy].
BACKGROUND: We developed a new technique to determine the laterality of microscopic hematuria by means of gas cystoscopy. METHODS: An originally designed catheter system consisted of two catheters. On the tip of an inner catheter, a urine dipstick for blood was attached, with a cap on the tip of an outer catheter to keep the dipstick dry. In order to react a dipstick with the urine coming out from a ureteral orifice in the bladder, CO2 was insufflated into the bladder through a cystoscope (gas cystoscopy). The laterality of microscopic hematuria was determined in the bladder, based on the color reaction on the dipstick. RESULT: This technique was performed successfully in 14 (88%) of 16 cases with microscopic hematuria. The laterality of microscopic hematuria was determined to be ipsilateral in 6 patients, which coincided with the side of a urological upper urinary tract disorder. In contract, bilateral microscopic hematuria was confirmed in 8 patients with glomerular disorders. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic process in patients with microscopic hematuria remains unsolved for urologists and nephrologists. This technique may provide a new approach in diagnosing microscopic hematuria.