
Multisite evaluation of a new dipstick for albumin, protein, and creatinine
Author(s) -
Wallace Jane F.,
Pugia Michael J.,
Lott John A.,
Luke Karl E.,
Shihabi Zak K.,
Sheehan Michael,
Bucksa Jean M.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of clinical laboratory analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1098-2825
pISSN - 0887-8013
DOI - 10.1002/jcla.1032
Subject(s) - dipstick , creatinine , albumin , urine , chemistry , urology , chromatography , medicine , biochemistry
The goal of our study was to perform a multisite evaluation of a new urine dipstick called Multistix PRO™ (Bayer, Elkhart, IN), which has reagent pads for the simultaneous assay of urinary albumin, protein, and creatinine. Patients’ urine specimens were assayed at four sites with these dipsticks and with the familiar Bayer Multistix® 10SG dipsticks for protein. The new dipstick pads for albumin are impregnated with bis (3′,3″‐diiodo‐4′,4″‐dihydroxy‐5′,5″‐dinitrophenyl)‐3,4,5,6‐tetrabromo‐sulfonephthalein (DIDNTB) dye. These dipsticks also have a novel pad that estimates urinary creatinine using the peroxidase activity of the copper‐creatinine complex. We determined the interlaboratory agreement of these dipsticks by comparing dipstick results to values obtained by quantitative analytical methods. We found that dividing the dipsticks’ albumin or protein results by the creatinine concentration reduced the number of false‐positive albumin or protein values observed in concentrated urines, and reduced the number of false negatives in dilute urines. The ratio of albumin to creatinine, or protein to creatinine gives a better measure of albumin or protein excretion. Compared to reading by eye, the dipstick results agreed better with the quantitative assays when they were read by a reflectometer (Bayer Clinitek). J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 15:231–235, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.