Chyle in urine test

Your healthcare practitioner may order this test if you have the following symptoms:

• Clots of chyle in urine
• Milky urine 
• Blood in urine 
• Dysuria (painful urination)
• Weight loss
• Frequent urination 
• Fever
• Chills 
• Backache
• Hydrocele (accumulation of fluid in the sac under the penis that contains the testicles)

Your doctor may ask you to take a fat-rich diet a day or night before the test. This would help increase the levels of chyle in urine and so it is easier to detect. 

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) can make your cholesterol and triglycerides levels to show up lower than normal in this test, so avoid the intake of vitamin C before the test.

Inform your doctor if you are taking any medications as certain medicines such as acetaminophen, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), and metamizole can give falsely decreased results.

Your healthcare practitioner will give you a special container for collecting a sample of your urine. He/she will explain to you the steps of the test. A clean-catch method is followed to prevent contamination of urine sample with germs from vagina or penis. The following procedure is followed:

• Wash your hands properly with soap and water. 
• Using sterile wipes, women should clean the area between the labia (vagina ‘lips’), and men should clean the head of the penis. 
• Start urinating into the toilet bowl and stop midstream. 
• Position the container and collect urine until the container it is half-full. 
• Shut the lid of the container tightly.
• Finish urinating into the toilet bowl and wash your hands properly. 
• Label the sample and deliver it to the laboratory for testing.

Normal results:

Normally, the level of triglycerides and cholesterol in the urine is <10 mg/dL (milligrams per decilitre).

Abnormal results:

A high triglyceride level (>10 mg/dL) indicates chyluria. The following conditions can cause chyluria:

• Parasitic infections such as:
  • Wuchereria bancrofti (90%)
  • Malarial parasites
  • Ankylostomiasis
  • Trichiniasis
  • Taenia nana
• Non-parasitic conditions such as:
  • Congenital (from birth)
  • Retroperitoneal lymphangiectasia (a malformation of the lymphatic system surrounding the kidneys)
  • Tumours (lymphangioma/lymphangiomatosis/lymphangioleiomyomatosis)
  • Obstruction of thoracic duct/lymphatics 
  • Urethral/vesical and traumatic lymphangiourinary fistulae (abnormal connection between organs or vessels)
  • Stenosis of thoracic duct (narrowing of the thoracic duct)
  • Other causes (pregnancy, diabetes, abscess)
  • Nephrotic syndrome

Disclaimer: All results must be clinically correlated with the patient’s complaints to make a complete and accurate diagnosis. The above information is provided from a purely educational point of view and is in no way a substitute for medical advice by a qualified doctor.