Laboratory evaluation of leukocyte esterase and nitrite tests for the detection of bacteriuria.
We compared the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the 1-min leukocyte esterase test and the test for urinary nitrite alone and in combination as screening tests for bacteriuria in over 5,000 clinical urine specimens. The leukocyte esterase-nitrite combination had a sensitivity of 79.2%, a specificity of 81%, and a negative predictive value of a negative test of 94.5% for specimens with greater than or equal to 10(5) CFU/ml. Although the sensitivity of this test was too low to allow its use as the only screening test for bacteriuria, it may serve as a useful adjunct to culturing and other urine-processing systems in the microbiology laboratory.
D001437:Bacteriuria / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004950:Esterases / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000201:enzymology*; D009573:Nitrites / Q000652:urine*; D011934:Reagent Strips
D009573:Nitrites; D011934:Reagent Strips; D004950:Esterases