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Biological Research For Nursing
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Use of a Urine Color Chart to Monitor Hydration Status in Nursing Home Residents

Janet C. Mentes, PhD, RNCS, GNP

University of California Los Angeles School of Nursing, jmentes{at}SONNET.UCLA.EDU

Bonnie Wakefield, PhD, RN

Center for Implementation of Innovative Strategies in Practice (CRIISP), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Iowa City, IA

Kennith Culp, PhD, RN

University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa City

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 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 rs = 0.3 - 0.7, p < .01; the PROC mixed model was significant, p < .01. In subgroup analyses (n = 78), all females (rs = 0.67, p = .01) and both males (rs = 0.53, p = .01) and females (rs = 0.72, p = .01) with adequate renal function (Cockcroft-Gault estimated creatinine clearance [CrCl] values of 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 (rs = .64, p < .01). Ucol averaged over several individual readings offers another tool in assessing hydration status in Caucasian nursing home residents with ade quate renal function measures by estimated CrCl values.

Key Words: dehydration • urine specific gravity • creatinine clearance • aged

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Biological Research For Nursing, Vol. 7, No. 3, 197-203 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1099800405281607
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This Article
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What's this?