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[Urine analysis in a pediatric laboratory using reagent strips read visually (visual dip sticks)]
G Da Vela1, R Della Lena, T Casini
1Laboratorio Analisi Chimico-Cliniche e Microbiologiche, Azienda ospedaliera Anna Meyer di Firenze, Italia.
Summary
Dip sticks offer a faster urinalysis but show discrepancies in glucose, bilirubin, blood, and protein levels compared to lab methods. While pH is comparable, specific gravity is suitable for screening, making dip sticks useful for rapid diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Chemistry
- Urinalysis
- Diagnostic Methods
Background:
- Urinalysis is a common diagnostic tool.
- Dip sticks offer a rapid, visual method for urinalysis.
- Evaluating the accuracy of dip sticks against laboratory standards is crucial for clinical application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the reliability of visual dip sticks for urinalysis.
- To compare dip stick results with a standard laboratory analytical system.
- To identify specific analytes where discrepancies occur.
Main Methods:
- One hundred urine samples were analyzed.
- Samples were initially tested using an instrumental laboratory analytical system.
- The same samples were subsequently analyzed using visual dip sticks.
Main Results:
- Significant overestimation of glucose was observed with dip sticks.
- Discrepancies were noted for bilirubin, blood, and protein levels, in decreasing order.
- Comparable results were obtained for pH; specific gravity showed potential for screening but not direct comparison.
Conclusions:
- Visual dip sticks demonstrate potential for accelerating diagnosis and reducing pre-analytical errors in urinalysis.
- Users must be aware of the overestimation of glucose and discrepancies in other analytes.
- Dip sticks are deemed satisfactory for screening purposes, particularly for specific gravity.