title: Evaluation of four screening tests for bacteriuria in elderly people.
abstract: Four screening tests for bacteriuria were assessed at ward level in 418 elderly subjects and were compared with standard methods of bacterial culture. The tests were visual appearance; microscopy; dipstick for nitrite, leucocyte esterase, protein, and blood; and dipstick for nitrite and organisms. The sensitivity of the tests varied from 85.6% to 98.3%, and the specificity from 18.4% to 82.9%. A combination of visual appearance and dipstick testing for nitrite and leucocyte esterase gave a sensitivity of 96.1% with a specificity of 50.6%, and could have reduced by almost one-third the number of urine samples submitted to the laboratory for processing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Queen's University of Belfast.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Flanagan
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Rooney
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Stout
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001437:Bacteriuria / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004950:Esterases; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009573:Nitrites; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011934:Reagent Strips / Q000145:classification; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D009573:Nitrites; D011934:Reagent Strips; D004950:Esterases