Examining the urine sediment can provide important clues to your patient’s diagnosis.
Here’s how to do it in 5 easy steps:
- Collect a fresh urine sample (5 – 10 mL). The fresher the better, as casts may degrade the longer the sample sits out. Transfer the urine to a tube that can be used in your centrifuge. If you have a urine dipstick available, use it to perform a quick urinalysis.
- Spin the sample in a centrifuge at around 1500 rpm (revolutions per minute) for 3-5 minutes (make sure you balance your sample with a test tube with similar volume)
- You should see a pellet at the bottom of the tube. Discard the supernatant (the liquid above the pellet).
- Gently tap/flick the bottom of the tube to resuspend the pellet at the bottom of the tube in the small volume of urine that is left in the tube. Use a dropper/pipette to place one drop of the resuspended pellet onto your slide.
- Gently place the coverslip over the drop on the slide. Put the slide on the microscope and start exploring!