Using reagent strips for rapid diagnosis of peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients

Rapid diagnosis of peritonitis remains a significant goal in the management of patients who are maintained on peritoneal dialysis (PD). Several attempts to use leukocyte esterase reagent strips to diagnose peritonitis have been described. In the present study, we evaluated the usefulness of a new reagent strip, the PeriScreen Test Strip (Serim Research, Elkhart, IN, U.S.A.), for diagnosis of peritonitis in PD patients. This reagent strip for leukocyte esterase was designed to test PD fluid. It has 4 colorimetric grades (negative, trace, small, and large). We used the strips to evaluate PD fluid in 54 PD patients. In those patients, we diagnosed 19 episodes of peritonitis as defined by the criteria set out by the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis. The test strips showed a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 97%, a positive predictive value of 95%, and a negative predictive value of 100%. PeriScreen Test Strip reagent strips have excellent utility as a simple, rapid bedside screening test to exclude peritonitis in PD patients.