UATest.com

by

Transmetron 

_____________________

A urine test strip is a basic diagnostic instrument used to determine pathological changes in the urine in standard urinalysis (urine analysis).  A standard urine test strip may comprise of up to 12 different chemical pads or reagents which react (change color) when immersed in, and then removed from, a urine sample. The test can be read between 60 and 120 seconds after dipping.  Routine testing of the urine with multi-parameter strips is the first step in the diagnosis of a wide range of diseases.

The most common urine dip strips are the:

• Urine Drug Test
• Urine Pregnancy Test
• Urine Ovulation Test
• Urine Menopause Test
• Urine Nicotine Test

With the aid of routine examinations early symptoms of the following three groups are identified:

• Diseases of the kidneys and the urinary tract
• Carbohydrate metabolism disorders (diabetes mellitus)
• Liver diseases and haemolytic disorders

Diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract

Screening parameters:

• Leukocytes - Known as Leukocyturia
• Nitrite - Known as Nitrituria
• Protein - Known as Proteinuria also see Albuminuria and Microalbuminuria
• Blood - Known as Hematuria
• specific gravity
• pH

Many renal and urinary tract diseases may be asymptomatic for a long period of time. Routine urinalysis is recommended as a basic yet fundamental step in identifying renal damage and / or urinary tract disease at an early stage, especially in high risk populations such as diabetics, the hypertensive, African Americans, Polynesians, and those with a family history.¹

Specific kidney & urinary tract diseases able to be identified

Chronic kidney disease, Glomerulonephritis, Pyelonephritis, Cystitis, Kidney Stones

Carbohydrate metabolism disorders

• Glucose - Identified ay Glycosuria
• Ketones - Identified as Ketonuria (also see ketoacidosis and ketosis)

Around 30–40% of type I diabetics and around 20% of type II diabetics suffer in time from a nephropathy, and early recognition of diabetes is therefore of major significance for the further state of health of these patients.

Specific carbohydrate metabolism disorders able to be identified: Diabetes Mellitus

Liver diseases and haemolytic disorders

• Urobilinogen - Identified as Urobilinogenuria
• Bilirubin - Identified as Bilirubinuria

In many liver diseases the patients often show signs of pathology only at a late stage. Early diagnosis allows appropriate therapeutic measures to be instituted in good time, avoiding consequential damage and further infections.

Specific liver diseases and haemolytic disorders able to be identified: Liver Disease, (accompanied by Jaundice), Cirrhosis

Detection limit

The detection limit of a test is that concentration, at which the test starts to turn from negative to positive. Although the detection limit may vary between urine samples, the detection limit is defined as that concentration of the analyte which results in a positive reaction in 90 percent of the examined urines.

²

Uses for Urine Test Strips

Urine test strips can be used in many areas of the healthcare chain including screening for routine examinations, treatment monitoring, self-monitoring by patients and/or general preventive medicine.  One of the more popular uses of urine screen test strips is for that of screening for drugs or drug screening.  See also, Home Urine Drug Test Strips. 

Screening

Urine test strips are used for screening both in hospitals and in general practice. The aim of screening is early identification of likely patients by examination of large groups of the population. The importance of screening for diabetes and kidney disease amongst high risk populations is becoming very high.

Treatment Monitoring

Treatment monitoring with the aid of urine test strips allows a health professional to check on the results of the prescribed therapy, and if necessary to introduce any changes into the course of therapy.

Self-monitoring by Patients

Self monitoring with urine test strips under the guidance of a health professional is an effective method for monitoring the disease state. This applies particularly to diabetics, where the idea of self monitoring of the metabolic status (determinations of glucose and ketones) is self-evident.

General Preventive Medicine

Unsolicited self testing has become a popular measure in recent years as various urine test strips become available via pharmacy and online stores. Self monitoring for frequent urinary tract infections is a popular example as sufferers monitor their own urine on a daily basis and discuss the results with their health professional.

History of the modern day test strip

In many cultures urine was once regarded as a mystical fluid, and in some cultures it is still regarded as such to this day. Its uses have included wound healing, stimulation of the body’s defenses, and examinations for diagnosing the presence of diseases.

It was only towards the end of the 18th century that doctors interested in chemistry turned their attention to the scientific basis of urinalysis and to its use in practical medicine.

• 1797 - Carl Friedrich Gärtner (1772–1850) expressed a wish for an easy way of testing urine for disease at the patient’s bedside.

• 1797 - William Cumberland Cruikshank (1745–1800) described for the first time the property of coagulation on heating, exhibited by many urines.

• 1827 - English physician Richard Bright describes the clinical symptom of nephritis in “Reports of Medical Cases.”

• 1840 - The arrival of chemical urine diagnostics aimed at the detection of pathological urine constituents

• 1850 - Parisian chemist Jules Maumené (1818–1898) develops the first “test strips” when he impregnated a strip of merino wool with “tin protochloride” (stannous chloride). On application of a drop of urine and heating over a candle the strip immediately turned black if the urine contained sugar.

• 1883 - English physiologist George Oliver (1841–1915) markets his “Urinary Test Papers”

• approx. 1900 - Reagent papers become commercially obtainable from the chemical company of Helfenberg AG.

• 1904 - A test for the presence of blood by a wet-chemical method using benzidine became known.

• approx. 1920 - Viennese chemist Fritz Feigl (1891–1971) publishes his technique of “spot analysis".

• 1930s - Urine diagnostics makes major progress as reliability improves and test performance becomes progressively easier.

• 1950s - Urine test strips in the sense used today were first made on industrial scale and offered commercially.

• 1964 - The company Boehringer Mannheim, today a top leader on the world market under the name of Roche, launched its first Combur test strips. Even though the test strips have changed their external appearance little since the 1960s, they now contain a number of revolutionary innovations. New impregnation techniques, more stable color indicators, and the steady improvement in color gradation have all contributed to the fact that the use of urine test strips has now become established in clinical and general practice as a reliable diagnostic instrument. The parameter menu offered has steadily grown longer in the intervening decades.

Ascorbic Acid Interference

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is known to interfere with the oxidation reaction of the blood and glucose pad on common urine test strips. Some urine test strips are protected against the interference with iodate, which eliminates ascorbic acid by oxidation³.

Automated Urine Test Strip Analyzers

Automatic analysis of urine test strips using automated urine test strip analyzers is a well established practice in modern day urinalysis.

Urinary Sediment

During routine screening, if a positive test for leukocytes, blood, protein, nitrite, and a pH greater than 7 is identified, the urine sediment may be microscopically analyzed to further pinpoint a diagnosis.

References

1. Compendium Urinalysis: Urinalysis with Test Strips. Dr E F Hohenberger, Dr H Kimling (2002)
2. Your Kidneys and How They Work.  National Kidney and Urological Disease Information Clearing House. 2007. Retrieved on 2009-02-17. 
3. (2008) Combur-Test: Detailed information. Retrieved Feb 09, 2009, from Roche Diagnostics.
4. Brigden ML, Edgell D, McPherson M, Leadbeater A, Hoag G (March 1992). "High incidence of significant urinary ascorbic acid concentrations in a west coast population—implications for routine urinalysis". Clin. Chem. 38 (3): 426–31.

Disclaimer:  the information provided on this website should not be considered professional medical advice or medical counseling.  You should always consult your physician for any medical advice.