Analytical performance, agreement and user-friendliness of six point of care testing urine analysers for urinary tract infection in general practice.

Objective: Various point-of-care testing (POCT) urine analysers are commercially available for routine urine analysis in general practice. The present study compares analytical performance, agreement and user-friendliness of six different POCT urine analysers for diagnosing urinary tract infection in general practice. Setting: All testing procedures were performed at a diagnostic centre for primary care in the Netherlands. Urine samples were collected at four general practices. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Analytical performance and agreement of the POCT analysers regarding nitrite, leucocytes and erythrocytes, with the laboratory reference standard, was the primary outcome measure, and analysed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and Cohen's κ coefficient for agreement. Secondary outcome measures were the user-friendliness of the POCT analysers, in addition to other characteristics of the analysers. Results: The following six POCT...