title: Urinary screening for detection of renal abnormalities in asymptomatic school children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Urinary screening tests for early detection of renal diseases in asymptomatic school children and adolescents are important in the detection of silent renal diseases.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of occult renal diseases by dipstick test (reagent strips) in asymptomatic Nepalese children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 2,243 school children, aged 5-15 years, were screened for urinary abnormalities using dipstick test screening. The children who tested positive in the first screening were re-tested after 2-4 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the first screening, 123 children (5.5%) tested positive for isolated hematuria and proteinuria and for combined hematuria and proteinuria. Of these children, 16 (0.71%) cases tested positive in a second screening. Subsequently, 1 child from the secondary screening group was lost to follow up, 5 tested normal and 10 revealed abnormalities. Glomerulonephritis was the most commonly detected disorder (50%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Urinary screening was found to be useful in identifying occult renal diseases in asymptomatic children. Urinary screening would therefore not only help in early detection but also in the prevention of the deterioration of renal function later in life.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 1, B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIhS), Dharan, Nepal.
authors.forename: Prince
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parakh
authors.forename: Nisha K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Bhatta
authors.forename: Om P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: Pramod
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Budhathoki
authors.forename: Shankar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Majhi
authors.forename: Arvind
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: Kanchan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dhungel
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Prabhakar
authors.forename: Niladri
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haldhar
keywords: Renal Diseases; School Children; Urinary Screening