Evaluation of the leukocyte esterase and nitrite urine dipstick screening tests for detection of bacteriuria in women with suspected uncomplicated urinary tract infections

Abstract

A positive dipstick urinalysis (i.e., leukocyte esterase test and/or nitrite test) did not reliably detect significant bacteriuria in 479 ambulatory women with suspected uncomplicated urinary tract infection; 18.9% of the urine samples that demonstrated significant bacteriuria would have been rejected by the laboratory based on a negative urinalysis screen.