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Reagent strip testing of antenatal urine specimens for infection
1St. Michael's Hospital, Bristol.
Objective:
To compare reagent strip testing (RST) with microscopy and culture in identifying significant bacteriuria, and secondly, to consider potential cost savings if RST screening proved to be reliable.
Design:
Prospective descriptive study.
Setting:
Antenatal Clinic, Bristol Maternity Hospital.
Subjects:
Eight hundred and ninety-eight women having urine testing in pregnancy for microscopy and culture either routinely or because of a clinical infection.
Interventions:
The midstream specimens of urine had RST examination using Ames Multistix 8SG prior to being sent to the laboratory.
Main Outcome Measure:
Significant culture (> 10(5) colonies/ml) of a single organism in culture.
Results:
The highest predictive value for a negative result of the urine culture (99.7%) was obtained when using four RSTs in combination. The RST for nitrite had a high predictive value for a positive urine culture (90%). The samples which gave a false negative result with RST screening were mainly infected with low grade urinary pathogens or genital tract contaminants.
Conclusion:
RST screening for bacteriuria provides a reliable and cheap alternative to culture of all urine specimens.