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Performing a urine dipstick test with a clean‐catch urine sample is an accurate screening method for urinary tract infections in young infants
Author(s) -
Herreros María Luisa,
Tagarro Alfredo,
GarcíaPose Araceli,
Sánchez Aida,
Cañete Alfonso,
Gili Pablo
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14090
Subject(s) - dipstick , leukocyte esterase , medicine , urine , urinary system
Aim This study evaluated using urine dipstick tests with the clean‐catch method to screen for urinary tract infection ( UTI ) in febrile infants under 90 days of age. Methods We carried out a comparative diagnostic accuracy study of infants under 90 days old, who were studied for unexplained fever without any source, in the emergency room of a hospital in Madrid from January 2011 to January 2013. We obtained matched samples of urine using two different methods: a clean‐catch, standardised stimulation technique and catheterisation collection. The results of the leucocyte esterase test and nitrite test were compared with their urine cultures. Results We obtained 60 pairs of matched samples. A combined analysis of leukocyte esterase and, or, nitrites yielded a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 80% for the diagnosis of UTI s in clean‐catch samples. The sensitivity of leukocyte esterase and, or, nitrites in samples obtained by catheterisation were not statistically different to the clean‐catch samples (p = 0.592). Conclusion Performing urine dipstick tests using urine samples obtained by the clean‐catch method was an accurate screening test for diagnosing UTI s in febrile infants of less than 90 days old. This provided a good alternative to bladder catheterisation when screening for UTI s.