Urinalysis - The Carter Center

21
Test Procedure
The test is conducted by smelling of urine and the result is based on the
perception of the technician.
Clinical Significance
Abnormal urine odor may result from aging of urine, disease and diet.
• If the urine specimen is old, i.e. after collection, left on the bench
with out preservative for more than 2 hrs, it will have ammonical
(pungent) odor. The ammonical odor result is due to break down and
conversion of urea in the urine into ammonia by the action of
bacteria.
• Cystinuria and homocystinuria (type of amino acids, voided from
abnormal metabolism) have sulfurous odor.
• Oasthouse urine disease has a smell associated with the smell of a
brewery (yeast).
• Tyrosenemia is characterized by cabbage like or “fishy” urine odor.
• The presence of ketone bodies in the urine, that may be due to
diabetes mellitus, vomiting, starvation, strenuous exercise,
characterized by “sweet fruity” odor.
• Butyric / hexanoic acidemia produce a urine odor resembling that of
sweat.
• Urine of infants, which has inherited amino acid metabolism
disorder, smells like “burnt sugar” or maple, hence the name, “maple
sugar urine disease”.
• Also due to some food stuff such as asparagus, characteristic, urine
odor is produced, which has no clinical significance.
3.2 Foam
Normally when urine specimen is voided in a container, it produces small
amount of white foam. But during certain abnormal physiological and