Is sexual intercourse a significant cause of haematuria?

To determine whether recent sexual intercourse might be a cause of microscopic haematuria in patients referred to a urological unit following dipstick detection of urinary haemoglobin.

Forty-eight volunteers (24 men and 24 women) consented to have heterosexual intercourse with their regular partner, and to provide samples of urine for testing before and from the first void on the morning after intercourse. After appropriate instruction, volunteers tested their own urine for the presence of blood using standard dipsticks. Any volunteer with haematuria either before or after intercourse was offered a standard haematuria assessment. The results were analysed using the chi-squared test.

None of the volunteers tested positively for haematuria immediately before sexual intercourse; six of the 24 women (25%), but no men, became positive after intercourse (P < 0.01). Only one of the six women accepted the offer of a haematuria evaluation and no pathology was identified.

These results suggest that up to a quarter of women develop microscopic haematuria as a direct result of sexual intercourse. A history of recent sexual intercourse should therefore be considered when assessing the clinical significance of microscopic haematuria in women.