The Ames Clinitek 200/Multistix 9 urinalysis method compared with manual and microscopic methods.

Area of Science:

• Clinical Chemistry
• Urinalysis

Background:

• Semi-automated urinalysis methods offer potential for efficiency.
• Standard urinalysis methods provide established benchmarks for comparison.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of the Ames Clinitek 200/Multistix 9 system against standard methods for key urine analytes.
• To assess the accuracy and sensitivity of the semi-automated method for detecting protein, glucose, ketones, leukocyte esterase, blood, nitrite, and pH.

Main Methods:

• 315 urine specimens were analyzed using the Ames Clinitek 200/Multistix 9 and standard reference methods.
• Analytes measured included protein, glucose, ketones, leukocyte esterase, blood, nitrite, and pH.

Main Results:

• Excellent agreement was observed between the Clinitek and standard methods for protein, glucose, and ketones.
• The Clinitek method demonstrated lower sensitivity for detecting leukocyte esterase, nitrite, and blood compared to microscopic examination.
• The Clinitek pH method yielded inaccurate readings, showing falsely low or high values outside the 6.5 threshold.

Conclusions:

• The Ames Clinitek 200/Multistix 9 system is reliable for quantifying urine protein, glucose, and ketones.
• The semi-automated method's sensitivity is insufficient for detecting pyuria, bacteriuria, and hematuria compared to traditional microscopic analysis.
• The Clinitek pH measurement requires caution due to observed inaccuracies.