title: Screening methods for covert bacteriuria in schoolgirls.
abstract: Screening tests for bacteriuria based on two different principles were evaluated in1582 schoolgirls aged 5-11 years, and in 26 girls aged 3-16 years attending hospitalwith symptomatic urinary tract infection.  Tests for hypoglucosuria, performed by a semi-automated fluorometric method and with Uriglox strips on early-morning urine samples voided after overnight fasting, gave unacceptably high false-negative rates (16.7% and 20.8% respectively).  Oxoid and Uricult dipslides were immersed in fresh midstreamspecimens of urine obtained at school and read overnight incubation at 37 degrees C. Both gave comparable results, with low false-positive rates and no false-negative responses.  The higher cost of screening by dipslides was halved by using the "dipstream" technique, which also gave no false-negative results.  Its false-positive rate of 13.5% could be reduced to 1.8% by disregarding colony counts of 10-8 non-faecal organisms and over per litre, which appear unimportant in schoolchildren.  Bacteriuria was found in 2.3% of the schoolgirls; 39% of them had symptons, compared with 7.2% of the healthy girls, and 25% showed vesicoureteric reflux, which in 17% was associated with renalscarring.  Since the natural history of covert bacteriuria and its relationship withreflux and scarring remain undetermined further research is required.  The dipstreamtechnique offers a simple, reliable, and comparatively cheap screening method which could also be applied in general practice.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001437:Bacteriuria / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004739:England; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005470:Fluorometry; D006029:Glycosuria; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011934:Reagent Strips; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D014567:Urography; D014718:Vesico-Ureteral Reflux / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D011934:Reagent Strips