BackgroundrnHematuria is one of the most important signs of renal or bladder disease in children and itrncan represent a process that is simple and benign or complex and life threatening.rnAsymptomatic microscopic hematuria is common in unselected populations of children, withrna prevalence that ranges from 0.4% to 4.1% depending on the criteria used to definernhematuria.rnUrine analysis, a simple and inexpensive test, is the cornerstone in the evaluation of thernkidney function. Proteinuria or hematuria may be the only early signs of renal diseasernincluding membranous nephropathy, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, postrninfectious glomerulonephritis, IgA nephropathy and others. The basic dipstick method is thernmost rapid screening procedure that could be helpful in the early detection of renal or urinaryrntract diseases among apparently healthy or asymptomatic subjects in the hope of preventingrnand retarding progression to chronic renal failure. Many countries have used this screeningrnprogram to prevent and follow children with asymptomatic children. However the prevalencernof asymptomatic hematuria is unknown in Ethiopia and there is no recommendation onrnroutine screening urinalysis in Ethiopian school children.rnObjectivernTo determine the prevalence of asymptomatic hematuria in school age children inrnAddis AbabarnMethodsrnA cross sectional survey using urinalysis was done over a period of 8 weeks in 382 apparentlyrnhealthy school age children (7-12 years) at MAPS in Addis Ababa. The children who testedrnpositive in the first screening were re-tested after 2 weeks.rnResultsrnIn the first screening 32 children (8.4 %) tested positive for hematuria. Of these children, 16rn(4.2 %) cases tested positive in a second screening. The prevalence was both age and sexrndependent. Co-existing proteinuria and leucocytes were common findings (19.6 % and 8.4 %rnrespectively) where as pyuria, glycosuria and nitrite were seen in < 1% of children.rnGlomerulonephritis was the most commonly detected disorder (43.75%). 75 students (19.6%)rnwere positive for protein,7 students(1.8%) were positive for both blood and protein, 1rnstudent(0.3%) was positive for glucose,1 student (0.3%) was positive for nitrite ,32 studentsrn(8.4%) were positive for leukocyte- esterase.rn8rn8rnSubsequently, 10 children from the secondary screening group were lost to follow up andrnonly 6 students were referred to TAH pediatric renal clinic.rnConclusionsrnThis study helped to assess the prevalence of urinary abnormalities in school-aged childrenrnfor the first time in Ethiopia. Urine abnormalities are common finding among apparentlyrnhealthy school aged children with hematuria and proteinuria being the most prevailingrnabnormalities. Our study demonstrated that hematuria is higher in Ethiopian children thanrnother African children and worldwide. Coexisting urinary abnormalities especiallyrnLeukocyturia and proteinuria (most are trace) are common while nitrituria and glucosuria arernuncommon.