Diagnostic yield of repeat evaluation for asymptomatic microscopic hematuria after negative initial workup

Abstract

Purpose: The American Urological Association guideline for asymptomatic microhematuria recommends in patients with a negative initial workup, repeat workup should be considered for those with persistent/recurrent microhematuria. However, there is little data on the yield of repeat evaluation. Our hypothesis was that repeat workup yields a low detection rate of urologic malignancy.

Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients at our institution who underwent microhematuria workup with cystoscopy and upper tract imaging from May 2010 to June 2016. Microhematuria was defined as ≥3 RBCs/HPF on a properly collected specimen in the absence of a benign cause. Demographics, age, smoking history, history of radiation, and findings on repeat cystoscopy and imaging were collected. Our primary endpoint was a new diagnosis of urologic malignancy.

Results: Our initial cohort included 1,332 patients, of whom 21 were diagnosed with urothelial carcinoma and 7 with suspicious renal masses on initial workup. A total of 637 patients with negative initial workup had persistent/recurrent microhematuria. Repeat cystoscopy was performed in 161 (25%) patients at a median of 39 months, and repeat upper tract imaging was performed in 317 (50%) patients at a median of 39 months. Overall, repeat cystoscopy revealed new bladder cancer in 2 (1.2%) patients and repeat imaging revealed new suspicious renal mass in 4 (1.3%) patients.

Conclusions: We observed a low number of newly diagnosed malignancies among patients with persistent/recurrent asymptomatic microhematuria who had a prior negative workup. Additional research is required to determine the utility of a repeat AMH workup.

Keywords: Cystoscopy; Hematuria; Kidney neoplasms; Urinary bladder neoplasms; Urologic neoplasms.