Outpatient evaluation of hematuria: locating the source of bleeding.

Hematuria can have many causes, ranging from minor to serious. Urinalysis can usually differentiate a renal from a urologic source of bleeding. Most often the cause is found to be in the lower urinary tract. In patients with normal renal function and no significant proteinuria, red blood cell casts, or dysmorphic red blood cells, a urologic workup is indicated. When hematuria is thought to be of renal origin and associated with proteinuria and hypertension, renal biopsy may help to pinpoint the diagnosis.