EVALUATION OF VARIOUS SCREENING TESTS FOR DETECTION OF URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS
Abstract
Background: Conventional urine cultures cannot be used routinely on large scale or when there is urgency in diagnosing urinary tract infections (UTI) or where the facilities are not available. In these instances screening tests prove to be more useful. Aim: Evaluation of various urinary screening tests for detecting significant UTI for routine use with urine culture as gold standard. Methods: 500 samples of mid-stream clean catch urine were collected and processed for various screening tests such as wet mount examination, Gram’s stain, catalase test, tri –phenyl tetrazolium chloride test, Griess nitrate test and modified Griess nitrate test. Urine was also cultured by using standard semi-quantitative loop method and results of each test were compared. Results: 0f the 500 urine samples, 256 samples were culture positive. Of all the screening tests, evaluated modified Griess nitrate test was found to be most useful while urine wet mount examination found to be the least useful test for screening for urinary tract infection. Conclusions: These screening when used together will serve as an aid in diagnosis of urinary tract infections in resource limited settings.
Key words: Urinary tract infections, Urine culture, Screening tests, Wet mount, Modified Griess nitrate test.
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