title: Microhaematuria as a diagnostic marker of Schistosoma haematobium in an outpatient clinical setting: results from a cross-sectional study in rural Ghana.
abstract: The utility of microhaematuria (as measured by urine reagent strips) as a surrogate marker for Schistosoma haematobium infection is not established in patients with urogenital symptoms presenting to clinical settings, although previous studies have demonstrated its utility in screening asymptomatic individuals in large community or school-based settings. In this cross-sectional study of 201 patients, multivariate analysis demonstrated microhaematuria as an independent predictor of S. haematobium infection (OR, 4.29; 95% CI, 1.6-11.9) in individuals presenting with urogenital symptoms to an outpatient medical department (OPD) at a rural Ghanaian medical center. Microhaematuria is predictive of S. haematobium infections in clinical settings in endemic regions.
authors.affiliation: PhD, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
authors.forename: Richard K D
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Ephraim
authors.affiliation: BSc, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
authors.forename: Christian K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Abongo
authors.affiliation: PhD, Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Samuel A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sakyi
authors.affiliation: MSc, Department of Clinical Microbiology, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Ruth C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Brenyah
authors.affiliation: BSc, Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diabor
authors.affiliation: MD, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada; Divisions of General Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada isaac.bogoch@uhn.ca.
authors.forename: Isaac I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Bogoch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D006417:Hematuria / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011934:Reagent Strips; D012424:Rural Population; D012548:Schistosoma haematobium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012553:Schistosomiasis haematobia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000652:urine; D016482:Urinalysis / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011934:Reagent Strips
keywords: Schistosomiasis; diagnosis; microhaematuria; reagent strip