Tinción de Gram y tira reactiva como métodos diagnósticos de la infección del tracto urinario del lactante con fiebre
- J. Benito Fernández
- A. García Ribes
- N. Trebolazabala Quirante
- Santiago Mintegi Raso
- M.A. Vázquez Ronco
- E. Urra Zalbidegoitia
Year of publication: 2000
Volume: 53
Issue: 6
Pages: 561-566
Type: Article
Sustainable development goals
Abstract
Objetive To compare urinary Gram staining and dipstick for the detection of urinary tract infection (UTI) in febrile infants Methods Prospective study of 175 febrile infants aged 1-24 months. In all infants, a urine specimen was analyzed to detect UTI. The dipstick test was used to detect leukocytes and nitrites and samples were taken for Gram staining and urine culture. Urine was obtained by urethral catheterization. Positive urine results were defined as > 50.000 colony-forming units per millimeter of urinary tract pathogen Results The mean age was 9.8 months (SD: 6.64). Urine culture was positive in 87 patients (49.5 %). Diagnosis of UTI was confirmed in 91 patients (51.9 %), of whom 74 were admitted for clinically suspected pyelonephritis (81.3%). Gram stain had the highest specificity (98.9%) and pyuria the highest sensitivity (90.8%). Better results were obtained using the combination of dipstick and Gram stain with a sensitivity of 93.1%, specificity of 98.4%, positive predictive value of 98.5 % and negative predictive value of 92.5% Conclusion Urinary Gram stain appears to be more reliable than dipstick in detecting UTI in febrile infants but the results of both tests should be interpreted together