Diagnostic test accuracy of dipstick urinalysis for diagnosing urinary tract infection in febrile infants attending the emergency department.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of dipstick urinalysis for diagnosing urinary tract infection in febrile infants taking urine culture as gold standard. Study Design: Cross sectional, validation. Setting: Pediatric Department, Dr. Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital, Islamabad. Period: October 2024 to March 2025. Material and Methods: After fulfilling the inclusion criteria, 336 patients were enrolled in the study. A urine sample was collected and then divided into two portions. One was tested with a dipstick and other sent for culture. Infants were labelled positive or negative based on each result. Data is analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: The mean age of the patients was 12.23±6.74 months, 176(52.4%) patients were male and 160(47.6%) patients were females and 130(38.7%) patients were from rural area and 206(61.3%) were from urban area. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV< NPV and diagnostic accuracy of dipstick method for detection of UTI was 95.21%, 93.24%, 94.71%, 93.88% & 94.35% respectively taking urine culture as gold standard. Conclusion: Dipstick urinalysis is reliable and useful method with high diagnostic value for diagnosing urinary tract infection in febrile infants taking urine culture as gold standard