Evaluation of reagent strips for ascitic fluid leukocyte determination: is it a possible alternative for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis rapid diagnosis?

• Autor(a) principal: Ribeiro, Tarsila Campanha da Rocha [UNIFESP]
• Data de Publicação: 2007
• Outros Autores: Kondo, Mario [UNIFESP], Feldner, Ana Cristina de Castro Amaral [UNIFESP], Parise, Edison Roberto [UNIFESP], Bragagnolo Júnior, Maurício Augusto [UNIFESP], Souza, Aécio Flávio Meirelles de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNIFESP
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-86702007000100017; http://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/3539
• topic: Ascitic fluid; rapid diagnosis; dipstick; bacterial peritonitis

In order to evaluate the accuracy of a urine reagent dipstick (Multistix 10SG®) to determine ascitic fluid leukocyte count, we prospectively studied 106 cirrhotic patients from April 2003 to December 2004, in two different centers (Federal University of São Paulo - UNIFESP-EPM and Federal University of Juiz de Fora - HU-UFJF) for the rapid bedside diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. The mean age 54 ± 12 years, there was a predominance of males (eighty-two patients, 77%), and alcohol was the most frequent etiology (43%). Forty-four percent of patients were classified as Child B and fifty-one as Child C (51%). Abdominal paracentesis was performed both in outpatient and inpatient settings and the Multistix 10SG® was tested. Eleven cases of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis were identified by means of polymorphonuclear count. If we considered the positive Multistix 10SG® result of 3 or more, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value were respectively 71%, 99%, 91% and 98%. With a positive reagent strip result taken as grade 2 (traces) or more, sensitivity was 86% and specificity was 96% with positive and negative predictive values of 60% and 99%, respectively. Diagnostic accuracy was 95%. We concluded that the use of a urine reagent dipstick (Multistix 10SG®) could be considered a quick, easy and cheap method for ascitic fluid cellularity determination in SBP diagnosis.