Helen and Alfred Free at the Miles-Ames Research Laboratory in 1948 . The Frees developed the first dip-and-read test strip while at Miles Laboratories, now Bayer.
Who invented urine reagent strips?
Until the 1930s a wide palette of commercial urine tests with “modern” brand names was established. A methodological breakthrough was created by the spot test chemistry inaugurated by the Austrian, Fritz Feigl , about 1920.
Are urine strips accurate?
A positive urine dipstick has a great chance of being false positive. The average of the positive predictive value in the studies shows 61 percent . However, a negative urine dipstick seems to be more reliable, in which the negative predictive value shows an average of 83 percent.
Why are urine dipstick testing results so valuable?
The urine dipstick test can be used for UTI screening and reduces the number of negative urine samples sent for urine culture. Moreover, primary care physicians can advise the SCI patients to self-screen UTI by the urine dipstick test because it is easy to use and inexpensive.
What are urine dipsticks called?
A urine dipstick test is a test of urine, using a special strip of paper that is dipped into a sample of urine. The result is available almost immediately. It is sometimes called a rapid urine test .
How do I read my urine test results?
- Color – Yellow (light/pale to dark/deep amber)
- Clarity/turbidity – Clear or cloudy.
- pH – 4.5-8.
- Specific gravity – 1.005-1.025.
- Glucose – ≤130 mg/d.
- Ketones – None.
- Nitrites – Negative.
- Leukocyte esterase – Negative.
What is a normal pH for urine?
The normal values range from pH 4.6 to 8.0 . The examples above are common measurements for results of these tests. Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Some labs use different measurements or test different samples.
Will drinking water reduce protein in urine?
Drinking water will not treat the cause of protein in your urine unless you are dehydrated . Drinking water will dilute your urine (water down the amount of protein and everything else in your urine), but will not stop the cause of your kidneys leaking protein.
What would indicate infection on a dipstick?
Guidance from PHE [PHE, 2017] states that if dipstick is positive for nitrite or leukocyte and red blood cells (RBC) UTI is likely; if urine dipstick is negative for nitrite and positive for leukocyte, UTI is equally likely to other diagnoses; and if urine dipstick is negative for all nitrite, leukocyte and RBC UTI ...
Why is urine pH high?
A high urine pH may be due to: Kidneys that do not properly remove acids (kidney tubular acidosis, also known as renal tubular acidosis) Kidney failure. Stomach pumping (gastric suction)
How accurate is dipstick urine test for blood?
Results: Urine dipstick analysis of 635 urine culture-positive patients was studied. The sensitivity of nitrite alone and leukocyte esterase alone were 23.31% and 48.5%, respectively. The sensitivity of blood alone in positive urine culture was 63.94% , which was the highest sensitivity for a single screening test.
Is microscopic blood in urine common?
Microscopic hematuria , a common finding on routine urinalysis of adults, is clinically significant when three to five red blood cells per high-power field are visible. Etiologies of microscopic hematuria range from incidental causes to life-threatening urinary tract neoplasm.
What shows urine infection on dipstick?
Pyuria, as indicated by a positive result of the leukocyte esterase dipstick test , is found in the vast majority of patients with UTI. This is an exceedingly useful screening examination that can be performed promptly in any ED setting.
What should not be found in urine?
Usually, glucose, ketones, protein, and bilirubin are not detectable in urine.
Can a urine test detect STDS?
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) A urinalysis can give clues to the presence of sexually transmitted infections. A positive dipstick for leukocyte esterase or increased numbers of white blood cells in the microscopic exam is suggestive of chlamydia or gonoccocal infection.
Can you buy urine dipsticks over the counter?
You can buy over-the-counter UTI dipstick tests at your local drugstore or online . They work much like a pregnancy test: Each kit comes with a testing strip (usually three to a kit). You wet a test strip by holding it in your urine stream for a few seconds.
