Urine glucose
What it measures, and what changes the number.
This test checks for glucose (sugar) in urine. The kidneys normally reabsorb filtered glucose back into the blood, so the test shows whether glucose is spilling into urine. It is usually a dipstick reading within a routine urinalysis.
It is typically read alongside blood glucose and HbA1c, which measure blood sugar directly, and with urine ketones and specific gravity from the same dipstick.
Timing relative to meals affects the reading, and a first morning sample differs from one taken after eating. Dipsticks use a glucose oxidase reaction that is specific to glucose, but high amounts of vitamin C and very concentrated or dilute urine can affect the colour change. Many labs report it as negative or in graded steps rather than an exact amount. Reports may simply say Glucosa under the urine section.
Often read alongside: Glucose, HbA1c (NGSP), Urine ketones, Urine specific gravity