The use of BMC Chemstrip 9 in the macroscopic urine screening procedure

The usefulness of a stick test for detection of leukocyte esterase activity in urine as part of a "macroscopic screen" was examined, as well as the efficiency of our existing broad screening criteria for detecting abnormalities in urine without microscopic examination. In a study of 923 unselected urine samples submitted to the laboratory, a false-negative rate of 0.6% was observed as judged by microscopic examination. The results of our present studies tend to confirm the usefulness of our "screen" program. The new leukocyte esterase test has been demonstrated to be an important adjunct to the macroscopic screening program.