Evaluation of the diagnostic performance of the urine dipstick test for the detection of urinary tract infections in patients treated in Kenyan hospitals.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Culture is the gold-standard diagnosis for urinary tract infections (UTIs). However, most hospitals in low-resource countries lack adequately equipped laboratories and relevant expertise to perform culture and, therefore, rely heavily on dipstick tests for UTI diagnosis.

Research gap

In many Kenyan hospitals, routine evaluations are rarely done to assess the accuracy of popular screening tests such as the dipstick test. As such, there is a substantial risk of misdiagnosis emanating from inaccuracy in proxy screening tests. This may result in misuse, under-use or over-use of antimicrobials.

Aim

The present study aimed to assess the accuracy of the urine dipstick test as a proxy for the diagnosis of UTIs in selected Kenyan hospitals.

Methods

A hospit

SUBMITTER: Maina J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10323778 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature