Evaluation of the Diagnostic Performance of the LINEAR Cromatest and Laboquick URS 10-T Dipsticks Among Urinary Tract Infection Suspects in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) bring a significant and serious health-related problem. Repeated infections may lead to the development of renal scarring and end-stage renal dysfunction. Therefore, balancing the choices of UTI diagnostic tools depending on the costs versus accuracy can minimize false results that may subject patients to wrong treatments.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of LINEAR cromatest and Laboquick URS 10-T dipsticks against conventional urine culture at Arsho Advanced Medical Laboratory (AAML), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: A similar cohort of UTI-suspected patients from our previous study, who were prospectively enrolled from Arsho Advanced Medical Laboratory, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were considered for this analysis. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 26. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of different dipsticks were calculated using culture as a gold standard. ROC curve analysis was also used to determine diagnostic performance. A test with a P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Out of 446 urine samples processed, bacterial growth was observed in 141 (31.6%). Of this figure, 105/141 (74.5%) and 36/141 (25.5%) were from female and male participants, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the LINEAR Cromatest dipstick were 83.7% and 67.9%, respectively (P-value <0.001). The Laboquick URS 10-T dipstick showed sensitivity and specificity of 87.9% and 68.5%, respectively (P-value <0.001). The ROC analysis showed an AUC of >0.7 for both dipsticks.

Conclusion: In a setting where there is no access to urine culture, the urine dipstick may be considered an alternative diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of UTIs.