Use of a urine color chart to monitor hydration status in nursing home residents.
To determine whether urine color, as measured by a color chart, might be a valid indicator of hydration status in frail nursing home residents, this study tested the associations between urine color and urine specific gravity. This is a descriptive correlational study set in seven nursing homes in eastern Iowa. Ninety-eight nursing home residents > or =65 years of age participated. Exclusion criteria for the study included: unstable congestive heart failure or diabetes, documented renal disease, hyponatremia (serum sodium <135 meq/L), terminal illness, acutely confused/delirious or urinary tract infection at baseline, and gastrostomy-tube dependence. Weekly urine specimens were collected. Ucol was measured first, using a urine color chart. Usg was determined using the Chemstrip Mini UA Urine Analyzer. Week-by-week Spearman rank order correlations between urine color and specific gravity for the total sample (n=98) ranged from r(s) = 0.3 - 0.7, p < .01; the PROC mixed model was significant, p < .01. In subgroup analyses (n=78), all females (r(s) = 0.67, p = .01) and both males (r(s) = 0.53, p = .01) and females (r(s) = 0.72, p =.01) with adequate renal function (Cockcroft-Gault estimated creatinine clearance [CrCl] values of > or =50 ml/min) had significant associations between average urine color and average Usg. Females with mild renal impairment (CrCl between 30 and 50 ml/min) also had significant associations between Ucol and Usg (r(s) = .64, p < .01). Ucol averaged over several individual readings offers another tool in assessing hydration status in Caucasian nursing home residents with adequate renal function measures by estimated CrCl values.
Mentes
Janet C
JC
University of California, Los Angeles School of Nursing, CA 90095-6919, USA. jmentes@SONNET.UCLA.EDU
Wakefield
Bonnie
B
Culp
Kennith
K
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003124:Colorimetry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D003404:Creatinine / Q000652:urine; D003681:Dehydration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa; D008297:Male; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015588:Observer Variation; D011934:Reagent Strips; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013046:Specific Gravity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016482:Urinalysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000451:nursing / Q000592:standards
D011934:Reagent Strips; D003404:Creatinine