Quantitative fluorescence image analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid ploidy in urine from normal children

Quantitative fluorescence image analysis incorporates the 2 diagnostic techniques of cytological analysis with quantitation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Exfoliated urinary cells are ideal for analysis by this method, which allows the identification of "rare event" abnormal cells. We evaluated the urine from 50 children who had undergone cystoscopy or were catheterized for other reasons. The urine was free of infection by urinalysis. Cytological analysis demonstrated normal or atypical cells in all patients. Of the patients 1 (2%) had greater than 2 of 500 cells analyzed with greater than 5C DNA and 4 (8%) had greater than 2 of 500 cells with greater than 5C double stranded nucleic acid. These data suggest that it may be "normal" for urine to contain "rare event" abnormal cells. The significance of this finding is unclear at present.