Diagnostic accuracy of a point‐of‐care test using voided urine samples for detection of bacteriuria in dogs with signs of lower urinary tract disease

• Main Authors: David C. Grant, Michael T. Nappier, Virginia Kiefer Corrigan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2021-03-01
• Series: Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• Subjects: bladder; cystitis; infection; urinary tract; urine culture
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16040

Abstract Background Bacterial urine culture is recommended in dogs suspected of having urinary tract infection (UTI), but there is expense and delay in obtaining such results. Hypothesis/Objective To determine the diagnostic performance of a rapid immunoassay (RIA) dipstick for detection of bacteriuria using voided urine from dogs with clinical signs of lower UTI. Animals Twenty‐four client‐owned dogs. Methods Voided urine was collected and the RIA performed within 30 minutes. Urine collected by cystocentesis was submitted for aerobic urine culture. McNemar's test and kappa coefficient were calculated to determine agreement between the 2 tests. Results Nine of 21 dogs (43%) had UTI verified by aerobic urine culture. There was 1 false‐negative and no false‐positive RIA results. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the RIA were 89%, 100%, 100%, and 92%, respectively. Conclusions and Clinical Importance This RIA is promising for correctly identifying whether or not voided urine samples from dogs with lower urinary tract clinical signs have true bacteriuria in a rapid, inexpensive manner. Additional patients should be enrolled in a similar study to determine if diagnostic performance is robust in a large population.