@article{Arif_Afzal_Hamid_2022, title={Diagnostic accuracy of leukocyte esterase in confirmed cases of urinary tract infection in children}, volume={26}, url={https://journalrmc.com/index.php/JRMC/article/view/1748}, DOI={10.37939/jrmc.v26i4.1748}, abstractNote={<p><strong>Background: </strong>Gold standard for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTIs) is urine culture, but it takes longer for bacterial growth on culture media. Leukocyte esterase is a simple strip testing of urine sample, so it takes less time in diagnosing cases of UTI.</p> <p><strong>Objective: </strong>To determine the diagnostic accuracy of leukocyte esterase for detection of urinary tract infection in children taking urine culture as the gold standard.</p> <p><strong>Materials and Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, ---removed for blond review---from April to October 2017. Children of both genders between 2-12 years of age having clinical findings consistent with the operational definition of UTI were included in this study. Clean catch, midstream urine sample was collected in a sterile container for culture and test strip was dipped in urine sample for leukocyte esterase.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Total 215 Children were  included in the study.The mean age of the children was 7.15±3.36 years. There were 118 (54.9%) males and 97(45.1%) females in this study.37 (17%) were culture positive. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of leukocyte esterase was 69.77%, 87.79%, 58.82%, and 92.07% respectively. Diagnostic accuracy was 84.19%.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Leukocyte esterase is a reliable marker for the screening of urinary tract infection in children 2 years to 12 years of age.</p> <p><strong>Key words: </strong><em>Leukocyte esterase, urinary tract infection, urine culture</em></p>}, number={4}, journal={Journal of Rawalpindi Medical College}, author={Arif, Anam and Afzal, Muhammad Faheem and Hamid, Haroona}, year={2022}, month={Dec.} }