[A review of urinary examination--what medical practice expects now and what urinary examinations have to provide in the future].

Urinary examination can be performed frequently because of its non-invasive nature. To take advantage of this advantage, it is important to inform clinicians about the following: not only analytical results of chemical as well as morphological components but also easy-to-understand factors that are comprehensively analyzed, causing these components to emerge in urine. Here we review issues with the guidelines for hematuria diagnosis and management guidelines for chronic kidney disease.

Parvovirus B19-associated purpuric-petechial eruption.

Background: Papular-purpuric gloves-and-socks syndrome, characterized by focal acral purpuric eruptions with a symmetrical distribution, is a rare but representative purpuric dermatosis closely associated with parvovirus B19 (PVB19) infection. However, several atypical presentations such as involvement of other sites and generalized involvement have been recently reported in PVB19 infected patients. Such multifaceted features can cause considerable confusion when making a diagnosis of purpuric eruption associated with PVB19.

Urinary heme oxygenase-1 as a sensitive indicator of tubulointerstitial inflammatory damage in various renal diseases.

Background/aims: In oxidative stress, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) plays a pivotal role in maintaining renal function and protecting renal structure, especially in renal tubular epithelial cells. We examined urinary HO-1 (uHO-1) levels to assess whether uHO-1 acts as a sensitive biomarker for detecting tubulointerstitial inflammatory damage in renal diseases.

Methods: Immunohistochemical analyses and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for uHO-1 were performed using 61 urine samples (supernatants and sediment lysates) from healthy children and renal disease patients.

[Pitfalls in measuring urinary proteins: age-related changes in urinary creatinine excretion that affect the urine protein/creatinine ratio].

Knowing the amount of protein excreted in the urine is important in determining the severity and activity of renal diseases. In general, screening tests have been carried out using the urine dipstick. However, there are limitations in determining the amount of urinary protein excretion using qualitative tests for protein in spot urine samples due to the concentration and dilution of urine.

[Clinical usefulness of urine-formed elements' information obtained from bacteria detection by flow cytometry method that uses nucleic acid staining].

Recently, specific detection method for Bacteria, by flow cytometry method using nucleic acid staining, was developed as a function of automated urine formed elements analyzer for routine urine testing. Here, we performed a basic study on this bacteria analysis method. In addition, we also have a comparison among urine sediment analysis, urine Gram staining and urine quantitative cultivation, the conventional methods performed up to now.