Performance of Uricult Trio registered assessed by a comparison method and external control panels in primary healthcare

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation 2000-09, Vol.60 (5), p.381-386
• Main Authors: Aspevall, O, Kjerstadius, T, Lindberg, L, Hallander, H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0036-5513

Using the comparison method, we have evaluated the technical performance of Uricult Trio registered by culturing on Uricult Trio registered and agar plates. Urine samples (477) from patients in primary healthcare were cultured in parallel in a microbiology laboratory. The result for Uricult Trio registered evaluated using the comparison method was incorrect in 32% of the cultures. We also studied the performance of Uricult Trio registered when used in primary healthcare by using external control panels. External control panels consisting of Uricult Trio registered , inoculated with known concentrations of certain bacterial strains, were used to assess the performance of Uricult Trio registered in primary healthcare during the period 1993-7. Aberrations in reports of concentration have ranged from 10% to 33%, failure in reporting of mixed culture from 0% to 91% and reporting of E. coli from 15% to 86%. There has been no sign of improvement over the years. The results indicate that Uricult Trio registered is unsuitable for indications other than exclusion of urinary tract infection or diagnosis of urinary tract infection caused by E. coli. Further, there is need for quality assurance and training activities at primary healthcare laboratories, probably best carried out in collaboration with local clinical microbiology laboratories.