One test with fantastic utility across healthcare is the urine dipstick test. Whether you are dipping the urine of adult or paediatric patients, the results at the clinician’s disposal can direct further investigations and medication, or give assurance that no further action is required.
What the operator needs to ensure is that the results being obtained are accurate, and this requires good knowledge around processing a urine dipstick test. For instance, not all tests develop at the same time with timings ranging from seconds to a couple of minutes. The user must be aware of this, especially when results are being obtained by eye. Use of automated readers does minimise the variation and subjectivity around reading and interpreting results so consider implementing readers where possible.
A range of analytes and measurements are available using these products: Glucose, bilirubin, ketone, specific gravity, blood, pH, protein, urobilinogen, nitrite and leucocytes.
What is indicated by each test result and its interpretation is important as this may vary from patient to patient based on their history, sex and symptoms. Tessa Davis, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine (Twitter – @TessaRDavis) has produced this educational video which is free to access, aiming to demystify the use of urine dipsticks.
Urine testing products and readers are available from a number of diagnostics companies and distributors including Siemens Healthineers (Multistix range and Clinitek Status Connect reader).
Tessa Davis is a Consultant in Paediatric Medicine and co-founder of Don’t Forget The Bubbles, an online teaching platform for Healthcare Professionals, and YouTube channel
Tony Cambridge is the Managing Director of Thornhill Healthcare Events and Consultancy, and former Lead Biomedical Scientist in the Pathology Management team of a busy acute care hospital in England. He frequently speaks at national and international healthcare events, and is a key opinion leader for point of care testing. He is also a member…