Diagnosis of urologic malignancies in patients with asymptomatic dipstick hematuria: prospective study with 13 years' follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: To appraise the outcomes, determine the natural history, and instigate a rationale plan for follow-up of patients with asymptomatic dipstick hematuria.
METHODS: A total of 292 consecutive patients with asymptomatic dipstick hematuria referred between January 1992 and December 1994 were investigated and prospectively followed up. The initial investigations included urinalysis, urine culture and sensitivity, cytology, intravenous urography, with or without ultrasonography, and cystoscopy. Baseline data and follow-up events, particularly the development of urologic malignancy, were recorded for a 13-year period.
RESULTS: Sixteen patients (5.4%) were found to have urologic malignancies on initial evaluation. Of these, 11 died. During a follow-up of 13 years, 21 patients (7%) were lost to follow-up and 42 died of various unrelated causes (other than urologic malignancies). Of the remaining 213 patients, 180 (84.5%) subsequently had negative urinalysis. None with negative urinalysis developed a urologic malignancy during follow-up. The presence of dipstick hematuria persisted in 33 patients. Of these 33 patients, 10 had nephrologic causes, 8 had urinary tract infection, and 15 underwent repeat investigation with no pathologic cause identified. One patient, discharged with negative findings after full initial investigations, presented 2 years later with frank hematuria and was found to have a new bladder tumor.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients presenting with asymptomatic dipstick hematuria who have undergone thorough initial negative investigations can be discharged from tertiary urologic care services. Nephrologic referral is recommended if dipstick hematuria and proteinuria persist. The repetition of the urologic investigations is unwarranted, unless patients present with symptoms or develop frank hematuria.