Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
PURITAN MEDICAL

BECKMAN COULTER, INC.

Beckman Coulter develops, manufactures and markets laboratory systems, reagents, centrifugation, lab automation, elec... read more Featured Products: More products

Download Mobile App





Faster Method Diagnoses Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 01 Aug 2022

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) affect the urinary tract, including the bladder (cystitis), urethra (urethritis) or kidneys (kidney infection). More...

UTIs may be treated with antibiotics, but they're not always needed.

UTIs are common in children and when left untreated can cause acute distress, septic shock, and even kidney damage. The gold standard for diagnosing the condition, urine culture, is slow and labor-intensive for laboratory staff, leading doctors to sometimes prescribe antibiotics inappropriately before getting results, thus contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance.

Biomedical Scientists at the Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, OH, USA) investigated the association between urinalysis results and those of concurrent urine cultures, and to assess the accuracy of a published prediction model for the results of urine culture in a pediatric population. The study was a retrospective chart review of 5,535 children who previously underwent both urinalysis and urine culture for UTI and carried out at the hospital from January 2019 to December 2020. The study population had a median age of 7 years (mean = 9), was 69% female, and of those with positive urine cultures, 85.2% were female.

Dipstick and microscopic sediment urinalysis were performed on an iQ200 Automated Urine Microscopy Analyzer (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA). Positive urine culture was defined as ≥50,000 colony-forming units/mL of a urinary pathogen. To evaluate their method's performance in children, the team used it to analyze data from the medical records of the children, they entered their age, sex, risk for UTI, and urinalysis results into their test's algorithm to see how accurately it predicted their urine culture results. Six variables were selected for the prediction model UTOPIA equation: ×1:age UTI risk, ×2:sex, ×3:nitrite, ×4:leukocyte esterase (LE), ×5:white blood cell count (WBC) and ×6:grade of bacteria with ×2-×4 and ×6 being categorical.

The investigators reported that the UTOPIA value exhibited an area under the ROC curve value of 0.825, which is significantly higher (P<0.001) than the individual components for ages 0.546 (0.52-0.57), sex 0.575 (0.56-0.59) nitrite 0.618 (0.60-0.63), LE 0.757 (0.74-0.78), the grade of bacteria 0.664 (0.64-0.69), and the WBC count 0.776 (0.75-0.80). The closer the ROC value was to 1, the more accurate the testing strategy.

Jingcai Wang, MD, PhD, CC(NRCC), SH(ASCP)MLS, a Certified Medical Laboratory Scientist and senior author of the study, said, “The test represents a simple way to predict urine culture results. It can potentially reduce unnecessary urine cultures, save money, and reduce use of unnecessary antibiotics in children.”

The authors concluded that the predictive model UTOPIA value demonstrated good diagnostic performance for predicting urine culture results and possibly reducing unnecessary urine culture and antibiotic use in a retrospective pediatric population. The study was presented on July 27, 2022 at the AACC 2022 meeting held in Chicago, IL, USA.

Related Links:
Nationwide Children's Hospital
Beckman Coulter 


Gold Member
Flocked Fiber Swabs
Puritan® Patented HydraFlock®
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
New
Rapid Test Reader
DIA5000
New
Gram-Negative Blood Culture Assay
LIAISON PLEX Gram-Negative Blood Culture Assay
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








DIASOURCE (A Biovendor Company)

Channels

Hematology

view channel
Image: CitoCBC is the world first cartridge-based CBC to be granted CLIA Waived status by FDA (Photo courtesy of CytoChip)

Disposable Cartridge-Based Test Delivers Rapid and Accurate CBC Results

Complete Blood Count (CBC) is one of the most commonly ordered lab tests, crucial for diagnosing diseases, monitoring therapies, and conducting routine health screenings. However, more than 90% of physician... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The 3D paper-based analytical device has shown high clinical accuracy for adult-onset immunodeficiency (Photo courtesy of National Taiwan University)

Paper-Based Device Accurately Detects Immune Defects in 10 Minutes

Patients with hidden immune defects are especially vulnerable to severe and persistent infections, often due to autoantibodies that block interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), a key molecule in immune defense.... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The groundbreaking salmonella antimicrobial resistance prediction platform has demonstrated 95% accuracy (Photo courtesy of Yujie You et al., DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2025.01.013)

New Platform Leverages AI and Quantum Computing to Predict Salmonella Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella strains are a growing public health concern due to the overuse of antimicrobials and the rise of genetic mutations. Accurate prediction of resistance is crucial for effective... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: The Check4 gene-detection platform (Photo courtesy of IdentifySensors)

Electronic Biosensors Used to Detect Pathogens Can Rapidly Detect Cancer Cells

A major challenge in healthcare is the early and affordable detection of serious diseases such as cancer. Early diagnosis remains difficult due to the complexity of identifying specific genetic markers... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.