Scand J Clin Lab Invest 2000; 60: 1 96

European Urinalysis Guidelines

SUMMARY
These European Urinalysis Guidelines are given
under the auspices of the European Confederation of Laboratory Medicine (ECLM).
Medical needs for urinalysis
Urinalysis should always be performed on the
basis of medical need, and appropriate examinations for various clinical populations and
presentations should be determined by cost/
benet analysis. On this basis, selection indications for urinalysis are suggested for detecting
diseases of the kidneys or urinary tract (Page 6).
The referral for detailed urine examinations
should include an adequate description of the
specimen type, and should inform the laboratory of the clinical need in order to facilitate
correct selection of examination procedures and
interpretation of results (Page 6). This medical
information is mandatory when the choice is
being made between minimum and optimum
procedures for different specimens. The minimum information needed is outlined (Page 48).
Requirements for computerized information
systems are discussed (Page 49).
Patient preparation
Preparation for a high-quality urine specimen
should start on the previous evening and should
be as uniform as possible to allow standard
interpretation of results (Page 7). Details of
patient preparation before specimen collection
is given, ending with qualied specimens whenever possible (Page 8). First and second
morning urine specimens are dened (Page 7).
Collection of specimens, preservation and
transport
Recommended methods of urine collection are
listed (Page 9), including detailed illustrations
for the collection of mid-stream specimens
(Page 50, 91 96). Specications for collection
and transport containers are given (Page 10),
and preservation procedures for chemical measurements, particle analysis and microbiological
examinations are listed (Page 51).

Classication of examiniations
Examinations have been re-classied into four
hierarchical levels based on accuracy of measurements (chemistry on Page 12, particle
analysis on Page 23, microbiology on Page
31). In addition, the previous literature on the
visual appearance and odour of urine is
presented (Page 13).
Chemical methods of examination
Principles and performance criteria of multiple
test strips are reviewed (Page 13). A nitrite test
should not be used alone in detecting urinary
tract infections because of its low sensitivity.
Qualied procedures for measurement are
recommended (Page 56). Pregnancy examinations are reviewed briey (Page 18).
Quantitative chemical measurements are discussed in detail, mainly with respect to protein
measurements (Page 18). Measurements assessing volume rate (diuresis) are also summarized
(Page 19). Reference intervals, existing reference
materials (calibrators) and measurement procedures are quoted (Page 57).
Automation can be applied in centralized
laboratories after appropriate evaluation of
analytical equipment (and pre-analytical procedures). Local diagnostic requirements guide the
manner of implementation of point-of-care
methods, as well as manual or automated
procedures in different laboratories.
Particle analysis
Clinically signicant particles in urine are
reviewed and classication is divided into
basic and advanced levels (Page 20), one of
which should be selected by each laboratory (or
by its subunit, such as emergency services versus
regular-hour working personnel).
For routine particle identication, a standardized procedure with phase-contrast microscopy
or supravitally stained urine sediment is recommended (Pages 23, 62). Morphological criteria of
particles are given as investigated under a coverslip with a known volume of urine (Page 64).
Urine cytology for investigation of cancer cells is
1

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

considered to require special expertise. For

microbiology, different procedures apply because
bacterial infection usually needs to be detected in
ordinal scale. That is why the slide-centrifugation
technique and Gram staining are recommended
as the comparison method (Page 23).
Instruments supplement clinical particle analysis by reducing manual work (Page 25).
Evaluations against an appropriate comparison
method are recommended.
Microbiology methods
It is not necessary to request microbiological
examination of urine in all clinical situations.
Low-risk symptomatic patients consist of adult
females with recurrent dysuria/urgency symptoms without fever, and without known diseases
predisposing to urinary tract infection (Page
26). Urine cultures from these cystitis patients
are discouraged for routine purposes they are
necessary, however, for epidemiological purposes. Rapid methods for detecting bacteriuria
can be used in acute treatment decisions (Page
26) after appreciating the possibility of falsenegative ndings. All other symptomatic
patients belong in the high-risk group, whose
specimens should be sent for bacterial culture,
including identication of species and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
We provide a new classication of bacteria
based on the uropathogenicity and frequency of
bacteria in the aetiology of urinary tract
infection (Page 26, Table IX). Limits of
signicant bacteriuria are dened more precisely
than previously depending on the type of
specimen, clinical presentation and organism
(Page 30, Table XIII). For selected patient
groups, large 10 mL or 100 mL inocula are
needed to reach the required sensitivity. A new
standardized unit for reporting quantitative
cultures is recommended based on the developing particle identication techniques, adapting
international standardization of nomenclature
and volume: colony forming bacteria/litre
(CFB/L) (Page 28).
Details of different culture procedures are
given (Page 68). Procedures for species identication are quoted for routine microbiology
laboratories (Page 72). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing is reviewed, with acceptance of
direct susceptibility testing for rapid test
positive cases (clear positives) in experienced
hands (Page 32).

Automation of bacterial cultures may be

considered in large microbiological laboratories
based on evaluation of instrument performance
against an appropriate comparison method.
Stepwise strategies in urinalysis
Cost-benet analyses should guide screening
policies. Multiple examinations recommended
for sieving of general patient populations
should include measurements of leukocytes,
bacteria, erythrocytes, albumin (protein), and
of quantity for volume rate (~ diuresis; such as
creatinine or other) (Page 34). In acute cases,
measurements of glucose, ketone bodies and pH
can be of additional value. A ow-chart is given
for additional investigations in the case of
positive ndings (Page 36). It includes questions
of clinical need.
Use of a ow-chart is suggested to reduce the
number of less important urine cultures (Page
38). After clinical evaluation, a highly specic
laboratory examination should be undertaken
as a rst step. Remaining negative specimens
shall then be examined with a sensitive procedure to exclude true negative cases. The
development of new examinations with high
sensitivity (and specicity) for rapid bacterial
detection is encouraged to reduce the number of
routine cultures (Page 34). Asymptomatic
individuals should not be screened for bacteriuria, with the exception of pregnant women
and some other specied patient groups (Page
38). Increased local co-operation with clinical
units and detailed information from individual
specimens is needed to rst dene and then
select the minimum operating procedures or the
enhanced procedures for each specimen in
routine work-ow.
Increased detection sensitivity for early renal
damage is recommended because of the prognostic signicance in diabetes mellitus, probably
also in hypertension, and in monitoring patients
receiving nephrotoxic drugs (Page 39). New
patient groups should be incorporated into
strategies using these sensitive measurements
when prevention of long-term deterioration of
renal function is anticipated.
Quality assurance, including analytical quality
specications
Procedures for quality assurance and new
analytical quality specications are suggested

European Urinalysis Guidelines

for rapid (ordinal scale) examinations (Page 42),
particle analysis (Page 44) and microbiological
examinations (Page 45). For ordinal-scale
examinations they are based on detection and
conrmation limits, as compared with a quantitative reference procedure (Page 53), or
calculation of agreement based on k statistics
(Page 55). Analytical quality specications for
protein and other quantitative chemical measurements are summarized based on earlier
literature (Page 44). Implementation of elements
of a structured quality system (good laboratory
practice (GLP) with standard operating procedures (SOP) as documented in a quality
manual) is encouraged even in small laboratories, based on national co-operation (Page
40).
These guidelines should impact on the
validation of local working practices. In addition, the principles of quality embodied in these
guidelines may assist independent authorities
charged with accrediting laboratories.

1. I N T R O D U C T I O N
1.1. Foreword
An effective diagnostic strategy from urine
should be based on standard procedures
for collection, transport and analysis. These
standardized procedures are required to produce consistent reference intervals and decision
limits for the harmonized interpretation of
results. Europe has no consensus standard
procedures. Standardization is essential not
only for interpretation of results in individual
patients, but also for epidemiological studies,
for determining which populations should be
screened for urinary abnormalities, and for the
procedure to be followed when an abnormal
result is found [1]. In addition, laboratories
want to accredit their urine diagnostics by
comparing their methods with acceptable references. These guidelines therefore intend to ll
this gap by summarizing available knowledge
into one consensus practice for urinalysis (or
urine analysis) in Europe.
Selected list of analytes: The terms ``urinalysis'' and ``urine analysis'' are synonymous.
The combination of analytical procedures used
in practice is changing and varies in different
clinical situations. To form a basis, this

document is limited to the most commonly

requested examinations. Some analytes are
discussed in terms of specimen collection only,
since the precise medical needs and actual
analytical methods concerned would have
made this document too large for everyday
use. The present recommendations have made
use of some of the existing national guidelines
[2 7] as appropriate. Certain recent analytical
techniques, such as ow cytometry and nucleic
acid amplication, have widened the perspectives of information obtainable from urine. The
latest technology is referred to but not described
in detail.
Target audiences: These guidelines are aimed
mainly at laboratory professionals in small and
general laboratories and at points-of-care. Special features from both clinical chemistry and
microbiology are included in the appropriate
sections. The text is divided into a general
section and an appendix containing detailed
methodological descriptions, to make it accessible to clinicians and others not directly
concerned with such detail. Wherever the
location, the performance of examinations
must be determined by clinical requirements
and this means close co-operation between the
traditional laboratory disciplines and clinicians.
The large number of specimens and the need for
emergency reports increase the pressure for
rapid and reliable measurements. At the same
time, opportunities for cost-containment must
be identied. These guidelines will help establish
qualied procedures for laboratory examinations in these environments.
Process: This document is based on the work
of the European Urinalysis Group (EUG),
established under the auspices of the European
Confederation
of
Laboratory
Medicine
(ECLM) in 1997 [8, 9]. The EUG has
collaborated with the Working Party on
Urinalysis of the European Society for Clinical
Microbiology
and
Infectious
Diseases
(ESCMID) in the preparation of the guidelines.
The ``European Urinalysis Guidelines'' are
based on both medical needs and available
methods and technologies. In collaboration
with many experts from most European countries (see the list below) the present paper
attempts to create consensus practice for
urinalysis. The EUG wishes to express its
gratitude to the various sponsors listed in

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

Section 1.2, without whose help this document

could not have been produced.

1.2. Members of the ECLM-European

Urinalysis Group and ESCMID Working
Party, Other Contributors and Sponsors
Members of the ECLM European Urinalysis
Group
Dr. Timo Kouri (Chairman)
Centre for Laboratory Medicine
Tampere University Hospital
P.O. Box 2000, FIN-33521 Tampere
Finland
Phone: z358 3 247 5484, Fax: z358 3 247 5554
E-mail: Timo.Kouri@tays.
Dr. Giovanni Fogazzi
Divisione di Nefrologia e Dialisi
Ospedale Maggiore, IRCCS
Via Commenda 15, I-20122 Milano
Italy
Phone: z39 02 5503 4557
Fax: z39 02 5503 4550
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Vanya Gant
Department of Clinical Microbiology
University College Hospital
Grafton Way, London WC1E 6DB
United Kingdom
Phone: z44 171 380 9913
Fax: z44 171 388 8514
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Hans Hallander
Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control
Unit of Quality Assurance
SE-17182 Solna
Sweden
Phone: z46 8 457 2490 Fax: z46 8 3025 66
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Walter Hofmann
Institute for Clinical Chemistry
Stadtisches Krankenhaus Bogenhausen
Englschalkinger Strasse 77
D-81925 Munich
Germany
Phone: z49 89 9270 2282
Fax: z49 89 9270 2113
E-mail: [email protected]

Prof. Dr. Walter G. Guder

Institute for Clinical Chemistry
Stadtisches Krankenhaus Bogenhausen
Englschalkinger Strasse 77
D-81925 Munich
Germany
Phone: z49 89 9270 2280
Fax: z49 89 9270 2113
E-mail: [email protected]
ESCMID Working Party on Urinalysis
Vanya Gant, London, United Kingdom
(Moderator)
Hans Hallander, Stockholm, Sweden
Francis
O'Grady,
Nottingham,
United
Kingdom
Marc Struelens, Brussels, Belgium
Other contributors
Amores C, Jaen, Spain
Anyszek Tomasz, Krakow, Poland
Arnadottir M, Reykjavik, Iceland
Aspevall O, Huddinge, Sweden
Baerheim A, Bergen, Norway / Gent, Belgium
Bene M-C, Nancy, France
Blaseio U, Hamburg, Germany
Blondiau R, Erembodegem, Belgium
Bondarenko I, St Petersburg, Russia
Colombo JP, Bern, Switzerland
Delanghe J, Gent, Belgium
Dybkaer R, Copenhagen, Denmark
Edel H, Munich, Germany
Emanuel V, St Petersburg, Russia
Fang-Kirchner S, Vienna, Austria
Fenili D, Romano di Lombardia, Italy
Fernandes B, Toronto, Canada
Fuellemann R, Mannheim, Germany
Garcia JL, Sevilla, Spain
Gatermann S, Bochum, Germany
Grubb A, Lund, Sweden
Gyory AZ, Sydney, Australia
Hesse A, Bonn, Germany
Hoeiby N, Copenhagen, Denmark
Hofgartner W, Oxford, United Kingdom
Hyltoft-Petersen Per, Odense, Denmark
Ito K, Yokohama, Japan
Itoh Y, Osaka, Japan
Ivandic M, Munich, Germany
Kermes K, Tartu, Estonia
Khorovskaya L, St Petersburg, Russia
Kimling H, Mannheim, Germany
Kokot F, Katowice, Poland

European Urinalysis Guidelines

Kontiainen S, Helsinki, Finland
Kratochvila J, Nymburg, Czech Republic
Kutter D, Junglinster, Luxembourg
Lapin A, Vienna, Austria
Lipsic T, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Malakhov V, Moscow, Russia
Naber KG, Straubing, Germany
Naegele U, Mannheim, Germany
Newall R, Newbury, United Kingdom
Newman DJ, London, United Kingdom
Parker D, Elkhart, IN, U.S.A.
Peheim E, Bern, Switzerland
Penev MN, Soa, Bulgaria
Piemont Y, Strasbourg, France
Ponticelli C, Milano, Italy
Price C, London, United Kingdom
Pugia M, Elkhart, IN, U.S.A.
Rada F, Tirana, Albania
Recio F, Sevilla, Spain
Rowan RM, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Rowlands T, Meylan, France
Salum T, Tartu, Estonia
Sandberg S, Bergen, Norway
Selgren S, Elkhart, IN, U.S.A.
Siitonen A, Helsinki, Finland
Sikirica M, Zagreb, Croatia
Steinhausen R, Mannheim, Germany
Tetz VV, St Petersburg, Russia
Tzontcheva A, Soa, Bulgaria
Verhaegen J, Leuven, Belgium
Zaman Z, Leuven, Belgium
Sponsors:
A. Menarini Diagnostics
Bayer Diagnostics Inc.
BD Microbiology and Vacutainer Systems Inc.
Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc.
Labquality Ltd
ROCHE Diagnostics GmbH
Sarstedt AG & Co
SYSMEX EUROPE GMBH
The text does not necessarily reect the detailed
opinions of any of the contributors or sponsors
since it is the product of a consensus process.

1.3. Abbreviations
AACC American Association for Clinical
Chemistry
AMA Antimicrobial activity
ASM American Society for Microbiology

BIPM International Bureau of Weights and

Measures
BSAC British Society for Antimicrobials and
Chemotherapy
CAMP Christie-Atkins-Munch-Petersen factor
CAP College of American Pathologists
CDC Centers for Disease Control (U.S.A.)
CEN European Committee for Standardization
CFB Colony-forming bacteria (instead of the
traditional colony-forming unit, CFU)
CLED Cystine-lactose electrolyte decient (agar)
CNS Coagulase-negative staphylococci
CRM Certied Reference Material
CV Coefcient of variation (relative standard
deviation)
EC Enzyme Commission (number of classication)
ECCLS European Committee for Clinical
Laboratory Standards
ECLM European Confederation of Laboratory
Medicine
EN European Standard
EQA External Quality Assessment
EQAS External quality assessment scheme (or
survey)
ESCMID European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
EUG European Urinalysis Group
FDA Food and Drug Administration (U.S.A.)
FESCC Federation of European Societies of
Clinical Chemistry
FN False negative
FP False positive
GBS Group B streptococci
GFR Glomerular ltration rate
GLP Good Laboratory Practice
hCG Human chorionic gonadotropin
HPF High-power eld (in a microscope)
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
IFCC International Federation of Clinical
Chemistry
IQC Internal quality control
ISO International Organization for Standardization
IUPAC International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry
IUPAP International Union of Pure and
Applied Physics
IVD In Vitro Device
JCCLS Japanese Committee for Clinical
Laboratory Standards
kDa Kilodaltons
KIA Kligler Iron Agar

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

LC Conrmation limit
LD Detection limit
NCCLS National Committee for Clinical
Laboratory Standards
NIST National Institute of Standards and
Technology
NRSCL National Reference System for Clinical
Laboratories
OIF oil immersion eld
OIML International Organization of Legal
Metrology
RBC red blood cells
RBP retinol-binding protein
RCF relative centrifugal force
ROC receiver operating characteristic (curve)
RPM rotations per minute
SOP Standard Operating Procedure
SRM Standard Reference Material
SRGA-M Swedish Society of Medicine's Reference Group for Antibiotics
TQM Total quality management
TSIA Triple Sugar Iron Agar
URL Upper reference limit (of a specied
reference interval)
VIM International vocabulary of metrological
terms
VP Voges-Proskauer test
WBC white blood cells
2. MEDICAL N EEDS F OR
U R IN A L Y S I S
After a long history of clinical urinalysis there is
a need to update the medical relevance of
different investigations of urine. Cost/benet
analyses should guide the implementation of
examinations for various populations. The

epidemiology of target diseases should be

considered: for example, screening for incipient
nephropathy by detecting albuminuria in
patients with diabetes mellitus is recommended
world-wide [10, 11]; on the other hand, that for
schistosomiasis in children should be restricted
to those countries where this parasite is endemic
[12]. General indications for urinalysis are given
in Table I.
Clinical presentations in these individuals can
vary widely from asymptomatic ambulatory
patients to high-risk immunosuppressed individuals with life-threatening complications. No
age range is exempt. Clinical need may dictate
an urgent examination with a turnaround time
of less than 0.5 2 h, rather than a conrmatory
examination the result of which comes too late
for decision-making. The repertoire of local
laboratory or point-of-care environments will
also inuence the selection of laboratory
examinations that can be performed. Some of
these considerations are discussed in Section 8
(Stepwise strategies in urinalysis).
Request and report information. The format of
the request for and the report of urinalysis is
inuenced by the site of examination: at
point-of-care, specimen collection and analysis
results can be documented directly into the
patient record, whereas a remote laboratory
always needs a paper or computerized request.
The request reaching the laboratory may initiate a stepwise procedure agreed locally for a
particular patient group. Such pre-determined
strategies maximize diagnostic yield while
maintaining cost-efciency.
The importance of adequate clinical and
specimen-related information for correct selec-

TABLE I. Medical indications for urinalysis.a

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
a

Suspicion or follow-up of symptoms or situations suggesting the possibility of urinary tract infection
Suspicion or follow-up of non-infectious renal disease, either primary or secondary to systemic diseases,
such as rheumatic diseases, hypertension, toxaemia of pregnancy, or to the adverse effects of drugs
Suspicion or follow-up of non-infectious post-renal disease
Detection of glycosuria from specied patient groups, e.g., individuals admitted to hospital for various
medical emergencies, or from pregnant women
Follow-up of only selected diabetes mellitus patients, e.g., children at home, to detect morning
glycosuria and ketonuria in addition to blood glucose measurements
Detection or follow-up of selected metabolic states, e.g., vomiting and diarrhoea, acidosis/alkalosis,
ketosis, or recurrent urinary stone formation

If understood widely, urine quantities are measured in diagnostics of several endocrine, metabolic and
inherited diseases, pregnancy, drugs of abuse, etc., most of which were not discussed in these guidelines which
focus mainly on diseases of kidneys and urinary tract.

European Urinalysis Guidelines

tion of examination procedures and interpretation is generally underestimated. Sufcient
detail is seldom documented for urinalysis
specimens. The minimum information is proposed in the Appendix (Annex 10.1).
The analysis report may be a structured note
entered directly into the patient's record when
examination is performed at point-of-care. The
remote laboratories must use a standardized
report format with dened units, reference
intervals and report style (Appendix, Annex
10.1.3). The purpose of a report is to guide the
clinician towards rational and evidence-based
diagnostics and therapeutic management. It
must be technically correct and must provide
unambiguous information.

3. P AT IE NT PR E P AR A T I ON
3.1. Denitions of urine specimens based on
timing
The following timed types of urine specimens
are described by modifying the denitions
quoted in textbooks [13 15] and national
guidelines [2 7]. The time of specimen collection must be recorded both on the examination
request and on the subsequent report to aid in
the correct interpretation of ndings.
Random urine is a portion of single voided
urine without dening the volume, time of day
or detail of patient preparation. This is usually
the unavoidable case in acute situations.
Random urine specimens are associated with
many false-negative and some false-positive
results.
First morning urine is the specimen voided
immediately after an overnight bed-rest before
breakfast and other activities. This is also called
early morning urine. It is recommended that the
early morning urine be voided after an 8-h
period of recumbency, and after not less than
4 h storage time in the urinary bladder (even if
the bladder was emptied earlier during the
night). This has been traditionally recommended as the standard specimen for urinalysis,
because it is more concentrated than day urine
and allows time for possible bacterial growth in
the urinary bladder. This specimen is most
easily collected from hospitalized patients, but
may be collected even at the patient's home if

compliance and rapid transportation to the

laboratory can be organized.
Second morning urine is a single specimen
voided 2 4 h after the rst morning urine. In
contrast to the rst morning urine, its composition may be affected by prior ingestion of food
and uids and by movement. However, it may
be more practical for ambulatory patients. To
increase the sensitivities of bacterial culture and
particle counting, the quality of the second
morning urine should be improved by allowing
ingestion of only one glass of water (200 mL)
after 22:00 on the previous evening and
extending this abstinence up to the time of
specimen collection. A bladder incubation time
exceeding 4 h is possible with this uid restriction. Postural proteinuria cannot, however, be
prevented and should be further investigated by
examining a rst morning urine sample if
diagnostic problems occur. If these standardized
collection instructions have not been followed,
the second morning urine is classed as a
``random'' specimen.
Timed collection of urine is collected at a
specied time in relation to another activity,
e.g., therapy, meals, daytime or bed-rest. A 24-h
urine collection contains all portions voided over
24 h. A timed 24-h collection can be started at
any time of the day by emptying the bladder
and noting the time. All urine during the next
24 h is then collected and preserved as appropriate for each analyte (see Appendix, Annex
10.3.4).
Timed overnight urine is collected by emptying
the bladder just before going to bed, noting the
exact time, and then collecting all urine portions
during the bed-rest period. At the end of the
period, the last portion is collected, the exact
time recorded and the total volume of overnight
urine noted. The specimen or a representative
aliquot is then sent to the laboratory.
3.2. Patient preparation before specimen
collection
The patient should be told why a urine
specimen requires to be examined and given
instructions on how it should be collected (see
Section 4.1). Ideally, the instructions should be
given both orally and in written form accompanied by illustrations where possible to ensure
uniformity of the collection procedure (see
Appendix, Annex 10.3.1). Because the same

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

specimen is often used for both microbiological

and chemical measurements, the instructions
should combine both requirements.
Transmission of pre-analytical information.
Adequacy of patient preparation and type and
success of specimen collection can be coded
on the label on the sample tube. When available, this information should ultimately be
transmitted to the patient records together
with the results of examinations, e.g., ``qualied''/``standard'', or ``random''/``non-standard'' specimen, to increase the reliability of
interpretation. Thus, signicant deviation from
``standard'' should be recorded on the request
form or label added to the container as
``non-standard''.
3.3. Inuence and interference factors
Biological (in vivo) factors, changing the true
concentration of a measured component, cause
problems in the interpretation of laboratory
results, although the measurement process itself
is correct. These are called inuence factors
(discussed in detail below).
In addition, there are other factors that
technically interfere with the analytical
method applied (called interference factors,
16). The latter are particularly important with
non-specic analytical methods, e.g., those used
in traditional test strip elds (see Annex 11.1),
but also in other chemical measurements from
urine (17). As a classical example from microbiology, the specimen for bacterial culture
should be obtained before antimicrobial treatment is initiated to allow bacterial growth.
3.3.1. Volume rate (diuresis) and fasting.
Many urine constituents change in concentration when the urine volume rate (excretion
rate of water~diuresis) alters due to variation
in uid intake, reduction of renal concentrating ability or ingestion of diuretic substances.
If sensitive screening is needed, a low volume
rate (20 50 mL/h) is desirable to produce
highly concentrated specimens. This is best
achieved in morning urine. Documentation of
the urine concentration is recommended, e.g.,
density (specic gravity or weight), osmolality,
or a related analyte, which allow calculations
of analyte/reference ratios (see Section 5.4.2).
Starvation decreases urinary constituents

provided by diet (e.g., salt and phosphate),

but increases the excretion of metabolites
associated with catabolism, e.g., ketone bodies
and ammonia (16). In detecting glycosuria, a
carbohydrate meal before the specimen collection improves the clinical sensitivity (postprandial urine). In general, fasting before urinalysis
is designed to reduce diuresis. The preparation
of patients for standardized fasting blood
specimens can be combined with that for
urinalysis.
3.3.2. Exercise and body posture. Wide biological variation in urine composition is related to
physical activity and body posture. Examination of the morning urine and avoidance of
strenuous physical exercise minimizes these
inuences. Urinary calcium excretion increases
more than twofold on immobilization of a
patient by bed-rest (18). Exercise may increase
the amount of body constituents excreted by
increasing glomerular ltration as a result of
increased blood pressure (e.g., appearance or
increase in albuminuria or haematuria).
3.3.3. Incubation time in the bladder. To
demonstrate reliable bacterial growth, classical
microbiological advice has been to allow bacteria a log phase of growth by incubating the
urine in the bladder for 4 8 h [19]. Urine is a
good culture medium for many bacteria.
Using the classical Griess's examination
(applied in the nitrite examination pad on test
strips), it has been shown that the rst morning urine specimen is more sensitive in detecting asymptomatic bacteriuria among pregnant
women than later specimens [20]. In most
recent guidelines for the evaluation of new
anti-infective drugs, no incubation times are
mentioned [21]. The urgency of micturition
associated with acute infection will often not
permit sufcient bladder incubation time
before voiding, resulting in false-negative cultures. For chemical analyses, no particular
incubation time is necessary. In studying cell
and cast morphology, the best results are
obtained with a short incubation time of 1
2 h, provided that a high volume rate does
not lead to false-negative results (rare particles
are seen more often in concentrated urine specimens). For patients without urgency or
acute symptoms, advice concerning bladder

European Urinalysis Guidelines

incubation time, and a record of that time, is
still recommended to reach the highest sensitivities [22].
3.3.4. Contamination. Urine specimens should
be collected free of internal and external contaminating uids. Sexual intercourse should be
avoided for 1 day before specimen collection
because of the resulting increased amounts of
proteins and cells.
Urine from males is usually contaminated
with small amounts of secretory products from
the prostate. Excretion of N-acetyl-b,D-glucosaminidase, a marker of renal tubular function,
is increased for 3 days after ejaculation [23].
Seminal uid may contaminate urine after
normal ejaculation, but also in diseases associated with retrograde ejaculation to urinary
bladder.
Vaginal secretions or menstrual blood may
contaminate urine from females. This may be
misleading and can be minimized by tamponing
the vagina when acute symptoms necessitate
examination of urine. Pregnancy is associated
with physiological pyuria.

4. COL LECTION OF SPECIMENS,

P R E S E R V A T I O N A N D TR AN S P OR T
Urinalysis may be requested on specimens
obtained by voiding (micturition), by catheterization, needle puncture, through a postoperative urostomy, or by using different collection
vessels, such as bags or special receptacles for
bed-bound patients. The most commonly
obtained specimen is the mid-stream urine.
Requesting clinical staff must document the
method of collection to allow correct interpretation of results.
4.1. Procedures for urine collection, specimen
types
The microbiological requirements usually
determine the details of any collection
method, because urine intended for microbiological examination must avoid or minimize: (1)
contamination of specimens by commensal
bacteria, (2) growth of bacteria following
specimen collection, (3) damage or death of
diagnostically relevant bacteria, and (4) disin-

tegration of diagnostically valuable formed

elements.
Mid-stream urine (or clean-catch urine)
characterizes the middle portion of a voided
specimen. The rst portion of urine is not
collected, because it is always contaminated by
commensal urethral ora in both sexes (if not
purposely collected, see below). Minimizing
contamination of specimens by commensal
bacteria is especially important, and requires
detailed patient advice. It is important to
wash the introitus around the urethra in
females, and the glans penis in males with
water only, before micturition. This reduces
false-positive urine cultures by 20% or more
[24]. The use of antiseptics and soaps (with
variable additives) is not recommended as
this may affect bacterial viability [25]. The last
portion is also left over after collecting
50 100 mL of urine in the container. Detailed
instructions for mid-stream urine collection are
included in the Appendix (Annex 10.3.1).
Technically satisfactory collection of urine
from children and from women especially in
the late stages of pregnancy can be difcult. The
use of different sterile devices may help women
to urinate more easily into a collection container.
First-void urine characterizes the rst portion
of urine voided at the beginning of micturition.
This is the optimal sample for the detection of
Chlamydia trachomatis by nucleic acid amplication. It is NOT suitable for routine microbiological culture as urethral organisms usually
contaminate it.
Single catheter urine is collected after inserting a sterile catheter into the bladder through
the urethra (straight or ``in-and-out'' catheterization). For children without urinary control,
this is one of the methods of conrming or
excluding the presence of urinary tract infection
[26].
Indwelling catheter urine is collected at
replacement or by sterile puncture of an
indwelling catheter. Urine analysis specimens
must not be taken from the collection bag of a
permanent indwelling catheter.
Suprapubic aspiration urine is usually collected by sterile aspiration of urine through the
abdominal wall from a distended bladder. The
benet of this technique is that it allows a clearcut decision on the presence or absence of
urinary tract infection [27]. Detailed instruc-

10

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

tions are provided in the Appendix (Annex

10.3.3). The risk of bladder colonization by
suprapubic aspiration is lower than that by
in-and-out catheterization. Miniaturization of
measurement techniques by laboratories may
nowadays allow several different examinations
from the 5 mL of urine obtained typically by
the suprapubic aspiration technique.
Bag urine is widely collected from small
infants, but carries a high probability of
contamination with skin organisms. The entire
genital region should be washed carefully with
water. A sterile collection bag is applied and the
urine ow checked frequently. The collection
bag should be in situ for a maximum of 1 h,
after which the probability of contamination
increases greatly. Negative culture results reliably exclude urinary tract infection [26]. Borderline results need to be re-investigated from a
suprapubic aspiration or single catheterized
urine specimen.
Diapers or nappies are sometimes suggested
as collecting tools for clinical specimens from
babies [28]. Despite occasional promising
results, especially for chemical constituents
measured by qualitative strip examinations, it
is hard to recommend this method due to high
variability in the bre construction of different
brands and inability to measure the urine
volumes voided. Morphological and in particular microbiological investigations are impossible with this procedure.
Urostomy specimens (urines from ileal conduit) are frequently obtained after bladder
surgery. Paediatric and adult patients with
dilated ureters may be given bilateral ureterostomies. Chronic infection and bleeding at the
site of the stoma are common. Cleaning the
stoma and discarding the rst portion of urine
obtained through a sterile catheter of suitable
size ensures specimen quality.
Specimens to localize the site of urinary tract
infection. The collection of specic segments
of urine ow may help in dening abnormal
areas of the urinary tract that may need urological attention. Then, a dialogue between
the requesting clinician and the laboratory is
essential before the procedure in order to
guarantee the following:
origin of the specimen (left/right ureter,
bladder, etc.)

identication of any bacteria to low levels

(w104 CFB/L)
large inocula of urine to ensure accurate
plate counts (10 100 mL)
report simultaneously relative concentrations
at each anatomical site
antibiotic sensitivities of any bacteria grown
The lower urinary tract may be the subject of
investigation, typically the prostate. For diagnosis of chronic bacterial prostatitis, the Meares
and Stamey collection procedure is still recommended: rst and mid-stream portions of urine
should be collected, then drops expressed with
prostate massage, and the nal specimen voided
after prostatic massage [29, 30]; (see Appendix,
Annex 10.3.2).
4.2. Containers
Sterile sampling of urine is important for
urine microbiology, but may inuence some
chemical measurements. Sterility of collection
vessels means that the interior of the unopened
and unused container is free from interfering
microbial contaminants. The European Pharmacopoeia denes sterility as reduction of
bacterial growth to a probability of one
survivor in one million, e.g. after irradiation
[31]. Container manufacturers must document
their product's compliance with the intended
clinical use (see Section 4.2.1), rather than
following strictly the Pharmacopoeia denition
only. It is to be remembered that a particle
analyser or a nuclear amplication method will
detect even dead bacteria. Furthermore, since
waste is an increasingly important problem
globally, the development of new, environmentally safe materials is encouraged for all
disposable containers. Finally, containers
should comply with the European directive
for in vitro medical devices [32].
4.2.1. Collection containers.
Single-voided specimens: The design of collection containers should enable detection of
uropathogenic bacteria even in special situations, i.e. at as low as 104 CFB/L level
(equivalent to 101 CFU/mL) [5, 33]. The primary collection container should be clean and
have a capacity of at least 50 100 mL, with
an opening of at least 5-cm diameter to allow
easy collection of urine by both men and

European Urinalysis Guidelines

women. The container should have a wide
base to avoid accidental spillage and should
be capped so that it can be transported and
stored without leakage. The container and its
cap should be free from interfering substances
and should not absorb or change the urine
constituents to be measured. Those parts of
the container and its cap which come into
contact with the urine should not contribute
to microbial contamination after specimen collection.
Timed collections: For many chemical constituents, quantitative excretion rates are important. A container designed for a 24-h
or overnight urine collection should have a
capacity of 2 3 L. The container should be
constructed from materials that prevent (a)
adherence of urine constituents, (b) exposure of
urine to direct light, which might alter clinically
signicant metabolites, (c) contamination from
the exterior when closed. Stabilizers usually
prevent metabolic and other changes of urine
constituents. The container should allow for use
of recommended preservatives (Appendix,
Annex 10.3.4).
Secondary containers (for basic urinalysis,
usually examination tubes) should be easily
lled from the primary container without risk of
spillage. The tube should be translucent to
allow a clear view of the sample.
4.2.2. Transport, storage and analytical containers. Specimens can be transported in their
primary containers or divided into aliquots
that may range from 1 to 100 mL for chemical and morphological investigations. For
microbiological analysis, 1 3 mL of urine in
a clean container is sufcient. For large
laboratories, a standardized vessel with a
volume of 3 12 mL is essential for automated
analytical systems.
Examination tubes for test strip measurement, particle counting or urine culture should
keep the specimen suitable for analysis at
z20C or at z4C as specied.
Traditionally, urinalysis tubes have been
conical to allow decanting of supernatant
after centrifugation. A more accurate sediment
volume is obtained by suction of the supernatant. Therefore as an alternative to the
conical shape, a round-bottom tube may be
considered for easy resuspension of the sediment when using standardized equipment.

11

The examination tubes used for samples for

quantitative chemical analysis should keep the
specimen intact and the cap should remain
closed upon freezing and during centrifugation
up to 30006g (relative centrifugal force, RCF).
The size, structure and length of the secondary
container vary depending on the needs of the
diagnostic procedures.
4.2.3. Labelling. All specimen containers must
be labelled with a tag that remains adherent
during refrigeration. The label should include
a bar code (if used), a code of the examination requested, patient identication and
requesting unit, as well as details of collection
time, method of collection, and any additional
pre-analytical information in coded form.
Details of any preservative should be shown
on a separate label and include any appropriate hazard symbol. Labelling should not prevent a clear view of the specimen. The label
must be placed on the container, not on the
cap.
When body uids are mailed to a distant
laboratory, additional biohazard labels should
be added and the packages must comply with
the European standard EN829 (34).
4.3. Preservation and transport
The time elapsing between voiding and
examination of urine is a major obstacle to
diagnostic accuracy in most laboratories. Investigations performed at point-of-care are not
subject to this delay but may suffer from
analytical problems. Precise collection times
must be documented and delays exceeding the
specied limits should be stated on reports.
For many chemical constituents examined with
test strips no preservatives are needed, provided
the analysis is performed within 24 h and the
tube has been refrigerated. If the specimen
contains bacteria and has not been refrigerated,
false-positive nitrite or protein results may be
obtained using multiple test strips. In practice,
strip examination should be performed on-site
when rapid or refrigerated transportation is
not possible. Preservation may be critical,
since some preservatives interfere with enzymatic measurements (see Appendix, Annex
11.1).
For quantitative chemical measurements it is
known that several specic proteins are unstable

12

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

in urine but preservatives can inhibit their

degradation [35 37]. The effect of storage
may be method-dependent, since an earlier
radioimmunoassay for albumin did not nd
any effect on storing specimens at 20C for up
to 6 months [38]. In the present guidelines,
previous data are quoted [3, 39] as modied
where necessary by technological development
(Appendix, Annex 10.3.4).
For particle examination the specimen should
be refrigerated if not examined within 1 h,
although precipitation of urates and phosphates
will occur in some specimens. If precipitation
disturbs interpretation, a new specimen should
be examined atz20C to avoid their artefactual
generation. The longer the delay, the more
likely are elements to lyse, especially when the
urinary pH is alkaline and the relative density is
low (especially true with children, often producing a large diuresis). The WBC counts may be
questionable after 2 4 h, even with refrigeration [40]. Traditionally, ethanol (50% volume
fraction) is used to preserve the cells but this
only partially prevents lysis of red and white
blood cells. To avoid shrinkage, polyethylene
glycol (2% mass fraction, low molecular mass
such as Carbowax1) may be included in the
xative (this is called Saccomanno's xative
[41]). On mixing equal parts of sample and
xative, the particles should then be stable for 2
weeks. Alternative xatives also exist [42].
Commercial preservatives, such as formaldehyde-based solutions, buffered boric acid and
formate-based solutions, and mercuric chloridebased tablets are also available. They have
gained renewed interest following the development of automated systems. Fixatives may
be adapted after evaluation with the new
technology.
Specimens requiring microbiological investigation must be collected in a clean container and
examined in the laboratory within 2 h [5, 6].
They should be refrigerated at 4C without
preservative if delay w2 h is expected. Then
they should be examined within 24 h. If delay is
unavoidable and refrigeration not possible,
containers pre-lled with boric acid preservative
alone [43] or in combination with formate or
other stabilizing media [44 46], ideally in a
lyophilized form, may be used. Boric acid will
stabilize white cell number and bacterial
concentration in urine held at z20C for
24 h. Boric acid concentration may be critical

for successful preservation without bacterial

inhibition. It is suggested that containers
containing boric acid should be lled to the
indicated line to achieve a correct borate
concentration. The specimen should be examined within 24 48 h of production. It should be
noted that borate may inhibit growth of
Pseudomonas spp.

5. CHEM IST RY E XAMINATIONS

5.1. Hierarchy of methods (measurement
procedures)
In these guidelines, laboratory methods are
classied in four levels of performance based on
accuracy of measurement. This hierarchy was
adapted from earlier denitions of method
performance in clinical chemistry [47] to help
discussions aimed at better accuracy in
urinalysis.
Level 1: Rapid methods that ideally provide
the user with a fast, reliable response to an
individual patient and easy handling of equipment, usually in primary care laboratories and
at points-of-care. These typically include, for
example, urine test strip measurement, simple
urine microscopy or dip-slide culture. Results
may be expressed on an ordinal scale.
Level 2: Routine or eld methods used in
clinical laboratories because of medical need for
quantitative or specialized methods, which then
require experienced personnel and often a
centralized site. These are often mechanized or
automated methods. Examples include for
example routine identication of several uropathogenic bacterial species, immunochemical
quantitation of numerous urinary proteins, or
advanced urinary particle identication.
Level 3: An intermediate category of ``qualied comparison methods'' is proposed. The
techniques are analytically more accurate and
precise than Level 2 methods, but are not
applicable for routine use because they may be
too time-consuming or expensive. Level 3 needs
to be considered and created when no Level 4
methods exist and methods at Levels 1 or 2
need to be evaluated. Sometimes the Level 3
methods may be designed ad hoc for evaluation purposes only. Often, Level 1 may be
evaluated with Level 2 methods when all the
pitfalls of the methods of Level 2 are under-

European Urinalysis Guidelines

stood. Level 3 methods may be considered as an
intermediate stage in reference method development.
Level 4: The most analytically accurate
methods are called reference and denitive
methods (systematically called primary reference measurement procedures). A denitive
method is designed to give the true value of
the measured component [48, 49]. It is ``an
analytical method that has been subjected to
thorough investigation and evaluation for
sources of inaccuracy, including non-specicity.
The magnitude of the imprecision and bias
(uncertainty) of the denitive method is
compatible with its stated end purpose. The
true value is obtained from a mean value of
the measurements'' [50]. Very few denitive
methods are available for clinical laboratories
[51].
A reference method is dened as a ``thoroughly investigated measurement procedure,
clearly and exactly describing the necessary
conditions and procedures, for the measurement
of one or more property values that has been
shown to have trueness of measurement and
precision of measurements commensurate with
its intended use and that can therefore be used
to assess the accuracy of other measurement
procedures for the same property (-ies), particularly in permitting the characterization of a
reference material'' [48, 52, 53]. The European
Committee for Standardization (CEN) has also
described guidelines for the characterization of
these procedures [54]. Reference methods
should be used in the evaluation of trueness
of routine methods. For urinalysis and bacterial
culture, these are usually lacking or are in the
process of development. This is why a new
lower level (~Level 3) in the hierarchy was
introduced. Level 3 methods may be developed
to Level 4 after adequate descriptions of
performance.
5.2. Visual inspection (colour and turbidity)
and odour of urine
The most traditional urinalysis was based on
human senses. Visual inspection is often undertaken and reported by the patient but should
not be omitted by the laboratory. A summary
of the most common causes for abnormal
appearance of urine is given in Table II
(compiled from references 14, 55 and 56).

13

The odour of normal urine is aromatic of

undetermined source. Infected urine may be
ammoniacal or fetid. Some metabolic diseases
have characteristic urine odours (Table III;
from reference 14).
5.3. Rapid chemical examinations (Level 1)
Because many urinary tract diseases present
acutely, there is a need for rapid diagnostics
frequently at points-of-care. Then, the rst
urinalysis is often an ordinal scale (``semiquantitative'') measurement. Depending on the
local environment, these may be performed at
points-of-care or in laboratories in primary to
tertiary care hospitals as part of a more detailed
examination of urine.
5.3.1. Multiple test strips. Multiple test strips
(dipsticks; ofcially called ``multiproperty''
strips) have been designed to detect several of
the following components: leukocytes, bacteria
(nitrite), erythrocytes, protein (albumin),
glucose, ketone bodies, pH, relative density,
bilirubin, urobilinogen and ascorbic acid.
A minimum combination depends on the
intended use; general approaches are suggested
in Section 8 (Stepwise strategies in urinalysis).
The technology and principles employed in
test strips have been widely studied. Recently,
an interesting British evaluation of multiple
strips from seven companies was published,
assessing suitability for point-of-care diagnostics by visual reading [57].
The limitations of strip technology are well
known [15], but are compiled here in Appendix,
Annex 11.1.1. However, any new drug should
be considered as a source of interference. The
need for quality of test-strip measurements is reenforced in these guidelines by suggesting new
analytical quality goals (Section 9.2) and
evaluation tools (Annex 11.1).
5.3.1.1. Different properties of the strips (see
also Appendix, Annex 11.1 for methodological
detail).
Leukocytes (Esterase): The presence of leukocytes in urine is associated with both urinary
tract infection and non-infectious renal diseases.
Leukocytes are detected on the basis of indoxyl
esterase activity (deriving from neutrophil
granulocytes and macrophages) released from
lysed cells on the test pad. The analytical

14

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE II. Characteristic appearances of urine.

Appearance
Colourless
Cloudy, turbid

Milky
Blue-green

Yellow
Yellow-orange

Yellow-green
Yellow-brown
Red or brown

Red-pink
Red-orange
Red-purple
Brown
Brown-black
Darkening upon standing

Cause

Remarks

Dilute urine
Phosphates, bicarbonates, urates
Leukocytes, RBC, bacteria, yeasts,
spermatozoa, mucin, crystals, pus, tissue,
faecal contamination, radiographic dye
Pyuria
Chyluria
Parafn
Biliverdin
Pseudomonas infection
Drugs: arbutin, chlorophyll, creosote,
indicans, guaiacol, avins, methylene blue,
triamterene, enteral nutrition (if blue
dye added)
Flavines (acriavine, riboavine)
Concentrated urine
Urobilin, bilirubin
Rhubarb, senna
Drugs: Salazosulfapyridine, Phenacetin,
pyridine derivatives, rifampicin
Bilirubin-biliverdin
Riboavin
Thymol
Bilirubin-biliverdin
Drugs: Nitrofurantoin
Haemoglobin, RBC
Myoglobin
Methaemoglobin
Bilifuscin
Urobilin
Porphyrin
Beets, rhubarb, carotene
Fuchsin, aniline derivatives
Drugs: aminophenazone, aminopyrine,
antipyrine, bromsulphthalein, cascara,
chinine, chloroquine, chrysarubin,
hydroquinone, L-Dopa, naphthole,
phenytoin, metronidazole, nitrite,
nitrofurantoin, phenacetin, phenolphthalein,
phenothiazine, salazosulfapyridine, senna,
thymol
Urate
Drug: Rifampicin
Porphyrins
See above
Methaemoglobin
Homogentisic acid
Melanin/melanogen
Porphyrin, homogentisic acid, melanogen,
serotonin
Drugs: cascara, chlorpromazine, methyldopa,
metronidazole, phenacetin, imipenem

sensitivity of the strip is about 80 90% at the

detection limit of 206106 WBC/L against
chamber counting of fresh uncentrifuged specimens. At 1006106 WBC/L, a sensitivity of 95%

Polyuria, non-fasting specimen

Rectovesical stula possible

Infection
Lymphatic obstruction
Vaginal cream
Small intestine infections
Mouth deodorants

Vitamin B ingestion
Yellow foam
Alkaline pH
Yellow foam
Beer brown
Positive strip result, menstruation
Positive strip also; muscle injury
Acid pH
Result of unstable haemoglobin
May be colourless
Alkaline pH
Foods, candy

May be associated with (massive)

crystalluria
May be colourless
Blood, acid pH
Alkaptonuria (alkaline pH)
Rare

should be reached. Specicity at a detection

limit of 206106 WBC/L is about 80 90%.
Specimens with lysed cells, which are microscopically classied as negative, are partially

European Urinalysis Guidelines

TABLE III.
eases.

Characteristic odours of metabolic dis-

Odour
Sweaty feet
Maple syrup
Cabbage, hops
Mousy
Rotting sh
Rancid

Disease
Isovaleric acidemia and glutaric
acidemia
Maple syrup urine disease
Methionine malabsorption
Phenylketonuria
Trimethylaminuria
Tyrosinemia

responsible for reduced specicity. The esterase

eld does not detect lymphocytes. Subtilisin of
known activity may be used as a quality control
solution.
Bacteria (Nitrite): Nitrite examination is
based on activity of the nitrate reductase that
is present in most Gram-negative uropathogenic
rods, such as E. coli (Griess's examination).
Nitrate reductase is, however, lacking from
some common uropathogens, e.g. Enterococcus
spp. and Staphylococcus spp., and will therefore
not be detected whatever their urinary concentration. The positive detection of bacteria
requires, in addition, nitrate in the patient's
diet (vegetables), its excretion into urine and
sufcient bladder incubation time. The analytical sensitivity of the method is variably
reported as being between 20% and 80% against

15

the culture method, depending on the patient

population and the cut-off limit for positive
culture (usually chosen to 108 CFB/L or
105 CFU/mL) [58, 59, 60]. The specicity of
this eld for bacteria is high (w90%).
Performance of test strips in detecting
bacterial urinary tract infection must be interpreted carefully, since the selected cut-off for
signicant counts in culture (decreased to
106 CFB/L when patients with acute symptoms
are evaluated), type of specimens and the
studied patient population affect the results
obtained [61]. The combined positivity ``either
nitrite or leukocyte result positive'' is generally
useful [Table IV]. Specicity of the combination
is reduced compared to the nitrite examination
alone, because not all patients with leukocyturia
have bacteriuria. The clinical sensitivity of the
test-strip measurement improves if only patients
with pyuria are considered to have infection
[62 64]. This can be accepted in patients with a
low risk for urinary tract infection only, since
high-risk patients may have signicant bacteriuria without leukocytes in the urine (see
Section 8 for strategic approaches).
Erythrocytes (Pseudoperoxidase): The presence of red blood cells (RBCs), haemoglobin or
myoglobin in urine is seen either in dotted
(cells) or homogeneous appearance of colour on
the reagent pad. The examination relies on

TABLE IV. Performance of multiple test strips in combined detection of bacteriuria (either leukocytes or
nitrite positive).
Patient population
Specimen
(prevalence of bacteriuria)

Cut-off limit CFB/L

(CFU/mL)

Sensitivity Specicity References

(%)
(%)
and notes

Meta-analysis
(not given)

Not specied

108 (105)

80 90

80 60

Mixed hospital patients

(26%)
Mixed hospital patients
(20%)
Mixed hospital patients
(24%)
Ambulatory adult
patients, symptomatic
(38%)
Symptomatic children
(10%)
Symptomatic children,
age 1 24 months
(5%)
Pregnant women,
asymptomatic (2 5%)

Morning urine 108 (105)

85

80

84
Overall w105 (w102);
only range 105 6 (102 3) 25
6
3
85
Morning urine 10 (10 )

66, 67; numerous

publications
exist
68

Untimed

65
Overall w105 (w102);
only range 105 6 (102 3) 40

83
63
not given
50
69; using
reectometry
98
70
90

Untimed

56107 (56104)

88

75

Untimed,
catheter
specimen
Not specied

5 6 107 (56104)

79

98

71, fairly high

cut-off limit
72

108 (105)

40 50

95

73 74

Not specied

16

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

pseudoperoxidase activity shown by the haem

moiety of haemoglobin and of myoglobin.
Unfortunately, this activity degrades rapidly
(in a few days) even when the specimen is
refrigerated, and is sensitive to various
preservatives. RBCs reect pre-renal, renal or
post-renal disease, but also occur in certain
physiological conditions, such as menstruation
or strenuous exercise. Myoglobin can be
demonstrated in patients with muscle necrosis
(crush syndrome), rhabdomyolysis (alcohol,
neuroleptic malignant syndrome or cocaine
abuse) or polymyositis. Haemoglobin without
red cells may be detected in haemolytic states
and in patients with pre-renal, renal and postrenal haematuria if the cells have been
destroyed (either in vivo or in vitro) by delay
in investigation. The analytical sensitivity of the
test strip is 70 80% at 106106 RBC/L against
chamber counting on fresh uncentrifuged specimens [65]. Specicity of RBC detection is
reduced when compared with chamber counts
because RBCs lyse easily in urine.
Protein (Albumin): Total urine protein is a
mixture of high molecular weight proteins (e.g.
albumin, transferrin, intact immunoglobulins,
a2-macroglobulin) and low molecular weight
proteins (e.g. a1-microglobulin, retinol-binding
protein, immunoglobulin light chains) sieved
from plasma, proteins from the kidney (TammHorsfall protein) and those from the urinary
tract. The different causes of proteinuria are
listed in Table V. The traditional test-strip eld
is 90 95% sensitive to clinical proteinuria

(mostly albumin) at a concentration of about

0.2 g/L [75]. It is less sensitive to mucoproteins
and low molecular weight protein, and insensitive to Bence-Jones proteins. The quantitative
comparison method (Level 2 or Level 3) used to
evaluate the performance of the test strip (Level
1) has a clear inuence on the analytical
sensitivity and specicity obtained.
For early detection of glomerular damage,
sensitive immunochemical [76, 77] and other
[78, 79] rapid albumin methods have now been
introduced and may gradually be incorporated
into multiple strips. They should allow detection of albumin at 20 mg/L concentration (socalled microalbuminuria) at points-of-care as an
alternative to quantitative laboratory measurements if a rapid report is needed.
Relative volumic mass (Relative density;
specic gravity): Positive or negative results
from all urinalysis examinations should be
related to the state of water excretion (volume
rate). The density obtained with the chemical
test-strip eld is an arbitrary result allowing a
rough estimate of urine concentration only [81].
Osmolality should be measured from urines of
patients in intensive care or under parenteral
nutrition.
Creatinine: Creatinine measurement has been
traditionally used to estimate excretion rates by
relating urine concentrations of proteins [82],
hormones [83, 84] or other analytes to that of
water in single-voided specimens. Its limitations
are discussed in Section 5.4.2. A new measurement based on a copper complex has been

TABLE V. Causes of proteinuria (modied from 80).

Main groups

Classication

Examples

Intermittent

Functional

Fever proteinuria
Exercise proteinuria
Congestive heart failure
Epileptic seizures
Occurs in upright position only

Orthostatic
Persistent

Pre-renal

Renal
Glomerular
Tubular
Mixed (glomerular
and tubular)
Post-renal

Immunoglobulin heavy and light chain excretion (~Bence-Jones

proteinuria)
Myoglobinuria (in rhabdomyolysis)
Haemoglobinuria (acute haemolysis)
Albuminuria in IgA nephropathy
Low-molecular-mass proteinuria caused by nephrotoxic
drugs
Excretion of plasma proteins in advanced renal disease
Urinary tract infection; prostatic or bladder disease; vaginal discharge

European Urinalysis Guidelines

introduced in test strips to measure albumin/
creatinine ratios from patient urines [79].
Knowledge on clinically important interferences
has not yet accumulated.
Glucose: Examinations of urine glucose concentrations have largely been replaced by
measurements of blood glucose concentration
[85, 86]. Urine glucose measurements may be
advocated to check for inappropriate use of
blood examinations, or for those patients
unwilling to use blood sampling in addition to
laboratory monitoring of glycohaemoglobin
HbA1c concentrations [87]. In less favourable
economical situations, urine glucose monitoring
is better than no monitoring. Since the nding
of glycosuria may reveal patients with juvenile
or maturity-onset diabetes mellitus, a screening
policy using test strips continues to be important, especially in acutely ill patients (if blood
glucose is not used). Routine urine glucose
screening of pregnant women is useful if
combined with measurements of body mass
index (BMI) [88]. The analytical performance of
glucose screening by test strip is highly satisfactory, partially because in the important acute
cases heavy glycosuria exists.
Ketone bodies: Ketone bodies (acetoacetate,
b-hydroxy butyrate and acetone) are excreted
into urine in diabetic acidosis, during strenuous
exercise, fasting, during enteric inammations
or periods of vomiting. The chemical reaction
used is sensitive to acetoacetate and acetone,
but not b-hydroxybutyrate. Ketone bodies need
not be measured as part of general urinalysis,
but serve to classify or treat specied patient
populations, such as patients admitted as
emergencies (especially paediatric patients),
juvenile-onset diabetics or patients with toxaemia of pregnancy. After institution of insulin
and uid therapy in diabetic hyperglycaemia
and ketosis, tissue b-hydroxybuturate converts
back to acetoacetate, leading to transient
increase in urine acetoacetate excretion despite
an improved clinical situation. Slight ketosis is
detected even after overnight fasting, indicating
an acceptable clinical sensitivity. Unspecic
reactions occur with the traditional examination
principle (see Appendix, Annex 11.1.1).
pH: Urinary pH varies between 5 and 9.
Concentrated morning urine is usually acidic.
Urines from children are often alkaline. Bacteria metabolizing urea to ammonia may also
increase the pH of urine. Survival of leukocytes

17

[89] is particularly reduced in dilute and alkaline

urines, typically in children with urinary tract
infection [40]. Casts are also lost in alkaline
urine [90]. Measurements of urine pH are
needed for the diagnosis of acid-base disturbances (such as hypokalaemic alkalosis with
paradoxical aciduria), or when acidication or
alkalinization of urine is associated with specic
diseases (such as renal tubular acidosis, renal
stone disease), or during the elimination of
specic drugs (e.g. cytotoxic drugs).
Bile pigments: Measurements of urinary
urobilinogen and bilirubin concentrations have
lost their clinical signicance in the detection of
liver disease following the introduction of liver
enzyme examinations from blood. They may be
useful, however, in differentiating icteric
patients or in detecting alcoholic liver disease
in non-laboratory environments.
Ascorbic acid: Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
interferes with the measurement of several
test-strip analytes (see Appendix, Annex
11.1.1). Because many patients ingest vitamin
C in large quantities (w1 g/day), measurement
of ascorbic acid concentration in urine helps in
identifying those patients with false-negative
test-strip results. The other, more direct,
approach should be to try to develop test
strips insensitive to interference by ascorbate.
5.3.1.2. Instruments used for multiple strip
examinations. The manufacturer's instructions
must be strictly followed for optimal results
when reading test strips (Appendix, Annex
11.1.6). Instruments (rather than the naked
eye) are recommended for reading a multiple
property strip, whether in the laboratory or at
point-of-care [91], because observer-related
major errors occur frequently in practice and
are not traceable afterwards. It is also clear
that all laboratory examinations, including
those performed at point-of-care sites, should
meet the required quality [92].
The selection of different instruments is
determined by the local diagnostic requirements. Centralized laboratories providing a
24-h service tend to automate the analysis of
large numbers of specimens, while point-of-care
sites show an increasing interest in improving
the quality of single rapid patient investigations.
Fully automated test-strip readers are frequently considered in large laboratories. Automated urinalysis aims to improve the precision

18

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

and accuracy of results at higher level than that

achieved by visual or semi-automated methods.
Turnaround time, cost containment and safety
of the working environment are important
issues in routine work-ow as well. A combination of results from rapid chemical measurements and automated particle analysis is under
development [93].
5.3.2. Pregnancy examinations. Detection of
pregnancy is achieved by specic measurements of human chorionic gonadotropin
(hCG) secreted by the developing placenta
[94]. The appearance and rapid increase in the
concentration of hCG up to 10 000 IU/L in
serum and urine during early pregnancy make
it an excellent diagnostic marker. The examinations are performed from either blood or
urine specimens. The sensitivity to detect
extra-uterine pregnancies is recommended
using blood specimens, while urine is used for
rapid examinations to detect mainly normal
pregnancies. Different dened sensitivities
should be considered depending on the
intended application, since the sensitivity at
25 IU/L is sufcient to detect pregnancy
already after 3 4 days of implantation [95],
i.e., before the missed menstrual period. A
reduced sensitivity limit of 200 500 IU/L may
be of value if only detection of normal pregnancies is needed. This will delay the detection
of pregnancy but increase the specicity of
obtained results. Detail of measurements is
given in the Section 11.3.
5.3.3. Other rapid examinations. Test strips
with isolated elds to show the presence of
glucose and/or ketone bodies, albumin or
albumin/creatinine ratio only are indicated in
screening or follow-up of some dened patient
groups, such as certain patients with diabetes
mellitus, pregnant women or renal patients.
Pre-eclamptic toxaemia patients should be
screened by blood pressure measurements
rather than by conventional urinary protein
measurements [96]. However, proteinuria
assessment is important in treatment decisions
for pre-eclamptic patients. Rapid detection of
bacteriuria is discussed in detail in Section
7.4. The visual reading of one or two elds
on a strip is easier than of multiple test strips.
Rapid examinations for drugs of abuse are
not included in these guidelines.

5.4. Quantitative chemical measurements

For many urine components, a quantitative
result helps in the diagnosis and follow-up of
patients. This used to involve timed 24-h or
other collections of urine with calculated
excretion rates of the analytes. As a practical
alternative, a reference measurement to adjust
for water excretion (osmolality, creatinine or
equivalent) and calculation of analyte/creatinine
or analyte/osmolality ratios has already been
devised for measurements of protein excretion.
This quantitative approach is typically performed in centralized laboratories (Level 2
methods), but may be used in primary care
laboratories or even point-of-care sites with
methods suitable for Level 1 (e.g., albumin/
creatinine ratio) when the cost/benet ratio is
favourable. Several analytes measured quantitatively in specic clinical situations are listed in
the Appendix (Annex 10.3.4) in relation to
specimen collection. Detailed discussion was
considered to extend these guidelines too much.
5.4.1. Proteins. Measurement of total protein
excretion has been traditionally recommended
for detecting renal disease [97]. In most cases
the urine contains albumin that may be measured quantitatively or detected by test strip.
Glomerular nephropathies are characterized
by increased excretion of albumin, transferrin
and in the advanced stage by high molecular
mass proteins such as IgG [98]. It is already
widely accepted that an early glomerular disease, such as incipient nephropathy in diabetes
mellitus, can only be detected with sensitive
measurements of (micro)albuminuria (analytical sensitivity down to 5 10 mg/L [10, 99]).
Albumin excretion rate is elevated years
before reduction in glomerular ltration rate
is detected by an increase in serum creatinine
concentrations [100]. Increased urinary albumin is now considered predictive of mortality
and morbidity in both non-insulin-dependent
and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [101].
Albuminuria is the strongest known predictor
of cardiovascular disease in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [102]. The detection of
albuminuria is a risk factor in non-diabetic
hypertension [103 105], vascular disease [106]
and a predictor of heart failure [107]. Albuminuria also predicts mortality in elderly age in
general [108].

European Urinalysis Guidelines

For detection of tubular disease, a sensitive
strategy has also been proposed using measurements primarily of a1-microglobulin [109], also
called protein HC [110, 111]. Tubular dysfunction can also be detected with other excreted
markers, e.g., retinol-binding protein (RBP)
[112 115] and enzymes such as N-acetyl-b,Dglucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.30) originating from
kidneys [116 118]. The earlier b2-microglobulin
is too labile in acid urine. Enzyme measurements have gained only limited clinical value
because the interpretation of variably elevated
excretion rates has been difcult among large
patient populations. For example, in the
common paediatric urinary tract infections,
elevated excretions of N-acetyl-b,D-glucosaminidase, b2-microglobulin or a1-microglobulin
have no additional diagnostic information
after measurements of body temperature [119,
120]. This may reect the dynamic metabolic
states of tubular cells, high regenerative capacity of kidneys as well as their ability to adapt
despite the destruction of some nephron segments [121]. Renal tubular enzymes may,
however, be useful in assessing individuals
exposed to nephrotoxic drugs or heavy metals
[122].
Clinical specicity and prognostic signicance
in follow-up must generally be assessed to allow
targeted application. A sensitive measurement is
justied with specic suspicion of renal disease,
i.e., for patients with chronic diseases associated
with renal complications, such as diabetes or
hypertension, and similar states. Since tubulointerstitial damage may cause end-stage renal
diseases that have currently remained unnoticed
by using mostly screening with albumin strips, a
revised screening strategy should be considered
for other patient populations as well [123].
5.4.2. Quantities of volume rate (diuresis).
Osmolality. Assessment of renal concentrating
capacity is classically evaluated in kidney diseases. The preferred quantity related to
volume rate (diuresis) is urine osmolality
because it is a solute property [124]. Osmolality should also be measured when other components in urine need to be related to variable
excretion of water in order to estimate excretion rates. This is essentially true for both
renal and lower urinary tract diseases, and
both formed elements and dissolved chemical
constituents. Because a separate instrument is

19

required for osmolality measurements, very

few laboratories have applied analyte/osmolality ratios in their clinical practice [125]. Urine
osmolality is also related to diet and ingestion
of salts.
Relative volumic mass (old terms: relative density; specic gravity). Relative volumic mass
(traditional name: relative density [126]) is the
preferred term over specic gravity, since the
redenition of litre in 1964 to equal 1 cubic
decimetre of water. Since the reference density
(reference volumic mass) is the maximum density of water at z4C (r0~0.999972 kg/L),
there is no practical difference between volumic mass and relative volumic mass of urine
within clinical medicine. A more signicant
uncertainty of clinical results is derived from
inaccurate measurement procedures in clinical
laboratories. Urine relative volumic mass is
closely related to osmolality [127]. The correlation between relative volumic mass and
osmolality decreases in disease [128] because
relative volumic mass depends on the concentration of electrolytes, glucose, phosphate,
carbonate and occasionally excreted iodinecontaining radiocontrast media (after radiological investigations), while osmolality is
dependent on urea, ammonia and electrolytes.
Creatinine. Correction of diuresis using urinary
creatinine concentration to calculate analyte/
creatinine ratios has gained general acceptance
despite certain theoretical problems [10, 11].
Creatinine measurement is easily performed
and only minimally affected by proteincontaining diet. Creatinine excretion suffers
from inaccuracies related to body weight, age,
gender [129, 130] and renal function, i.e. tubular secretion in uraemia [131]. Chronic diseases
such as hypo- and hyperthyreoidism may also
affect it. Analyte/creatinine ratios should
always be measured as part of quantitative
measurements if timed collections overnight or
for 24 h are to be avoided.
Conductivity. Conductivity is a new parameter
that is brought to clinical laboratories and
intensive care units with novel instruments. It
is related to osmolality, since both are dependent on concentration of salts in urine. Conductivity seems to correlate to osmolality
fairly well, even better than creatinine [69,

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ECLM European Urinalysis Group

128, 132]. However, the exact clinical role of

this measurement awaits further clinical
experience.
5.4.3. Diagnosis and secondary prevention of
renal stone formers. Some quantitative measurements from urine help in diagnosing and
classifying patients with a recurring tendency
to renal stone formation [133]. After analysis
of the stone by X-ray or the infrared method,
quantitative measurements of urine volume,
relative density, pH, calcium, urate, citrate,
oxalate and creatinine are recommended as
minimum measurements from 24-h collection
[134 136]. Optionally, measurements of urinary magnesium, inorganic phosphate, ammonia and cystine are recommended in addition.
New technology to detect lithogenicity of
urine has also been proposed based on X-ray
microscopy [137, 138]. Serum (or plasma) concentrations of intact parathormone (primary
hyperparathyreoidism), calcium, urate, inorganic phosphate and creatinine are of value,
as well as examination of acid-base homeostasis in blood. Dietary background must be
known and understood when interpreting
these results. Microscopic analysis of urinary
crystals is discussed under particle analysis
(Section 6.1). The German experience suggests
the importance of investigations of urolithiasis
patients not responding to non-specic treatment, since new stone attacks could be prevented by 46% in the follow-up [139].
5.5. Electrophoretic examinations
Electrophoretic techniques are essential in
detecting the clonality of serum paraproteins
(M components) and monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains in urine (Bence Jones
proteins). Immunoxation of the urine or
serum helps in dening the isotype of the
myeloma clone. Some authors recommend
immunoxation electrophoresis of all specimens
because of the sensitivity of the method [140].
The specicity must then also be understood
because of the existence of monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined signicance. As an
alternative to screening and in monitoring,
turbidimetric quantitation of urinary k or l
chain excretion is also suggested [111], combined with immunoxation in case of a positive

nding with unknown clonality. Test strip is

usually negative for the light chains.
Size fractionation of urinary proteins on
sodium dodecyl sulphate-acrylamide gel electrophoresis [141 143] has been used to classify
pre-renal, renal and post-renal proteinuria
before quantitative measurements of specic
proteins became widely available. Small laboratories may use this examination if a quantitative
result is not needed.

6. PA RT IC LE ANA LY SI S
6.1. Clinically signicant particles in urine
Leukocytes: Granulocytes are the most frequent leukocytes detected in the urine of
patients with urinary tract infection due to
common organisms, and may also be seen in
other conditions such as glomerulonephritis,
interstititial nephritis and aseptic cystitis. The
appearance of lymphocytes in urine is associated with chronic inammatory conditions,
viral diseases and renal transplant rejection.
Macrophages (mononuclear phagocytes, histiocytes) appear fairly often in urine of patients
with urinary tract infection. They are also
suggested to reect, e.g., inammatory activity
of renal disease [144]. Eosinophil granulocytes
may occur in several disease states; they are no
longer seen solely as markers of acute interstitial nephritis caused by drugs such as betalactamic antibiotics [145].
Erythrocytes: Haematuria remains a major
sign of urinary tract and renal diseases. It may
also reect a general bleeding tendency. Haematuria for physiological reasons (strenuous
exercise) and vaginal contamination (menstruation) should be avoided if possible during
careful patient preparation. The appearance of
RBC in urine reects the origin of bleeding:
dysmorphic erythrocytes (red cells with abnormal size or shape) suggest renal disease, whereas
RBC with normal morphology usually originate
from the lower urinary tract [146 148]. The
morphology of RBC in urine is valuable in
evaluation of patients with isolated haematuria,
because it can determine if the subsequent
diagnostic work-up is urological or nephrological [149]. The examination technique needs
special training and is best performed with
phase contrast microscopy [147]. A subgroup of

European Urinalysis Guidelines

21

TABLE VI. Levels of microscopy differentiation in clinical urinalysis.

Basic level

Advanced level in addition

Red blood cells (RBC)

White blood cells (WBC)/Granulocytes

Detailed subclasses erythrocytes: dysmorphic erythrocytes

Differentiation of leukocytes: Granulocytes, lymphocytes,
macrophages (monocytes and eosinophils)

Epithelial cells:
Squamous epithelial cells
Non-squamous~small epithelial cells

From non-squamous epithelial cells:

Squamous epithelial cells
Renal tubular epithelial cells
Transitional epithelial cells (supercial and deep)
Intestinal epithelial cells (occurring after bladder surgery)
Atypical cells (experienced cytopathologist)

Casts:
Hyaline casts
Non-hyaline casts

From non-hyaline casts:

Erythrocyte, granulocyte casts
Renal tubular cell casts
Hyaline, granular, waxy, fatty casts
Bacteria and yeast-containing casts
Haemoglobin and myoglobin casts
Bilirubin casts

Bacteria
Yeasts, Trichomonas
Spermatozoa
Artefacts (hair, paper and textile bres,
starch, glass) and mucus

Gram-staining characteristics of bacteria (microbiology laboratories)

Schistosoma haematobium (in appropriate geographical locations)
Spermatozoa
Artefacts and mucus as on the left

Lipids:
Droplets (isolated and aggregated)
Crystals:
Urate, oxalate (mono- and dihydrated),
phosphate and cystine

Lipids, in addition to droplets:

Oval fat bodies (lipid-laden tubular cells), cholesterol crystals
Additional rare crystals:
Drugs, cystine, leucine, tyrosine, 2,8-dihydroxyadenine, xanthine

abnormally shaped RBC (acanthocytes or G1

cells~urine red cells with blebs) has also been
described recently [150 152]. Because of their
characteristic shape, identication of acanthocytes is helpful in dening a glomerular
haematuria.
Epithelial cells: Detached epithelial cells in the
urine may help localize urinary tract disease.
The appearance of squamous epithelial cells
from the outer genitalia or distal urethra serves,
however, as a marker of a poor collection
technique, except during pregnancy when
epithelial cell exfoliation is increased.
Transitional epithelial (urothelial) cells derive
from the multilayered epithelium lining the
urinary tract from the calyces of the renal
pelvis to the bladder in the female and to the
proximal urethra in the male. These cells are
frequently found in urinary tract infection and
in non-infectious urological disorders.
The detection and denitive diagnosis of
atypical cells is difcult [153] and should be
undertaken by experienced cytopathologists. A
suspicion of atypical or malignant cells may be

considered and reported by a general laboratory

examining urine cells at an advanced level. A
repeat urine specimen freshly collected and xed
according to a standardized procedure is needed
in cytopathological investigation. Rapid examinations for bladder tumour cell antigens may
enter clinical practice when problems with their
specicities are solved.
Renal tubular epithelial cells are mainly found
in the urine of patients with acute tubular
necrosis, acute interstitial nephritis for any
cause and acute cellular rejection of renal allograft [154, 155]. Tubular cells are also found in
patients with active proliferative glomerulonephritides [156], glomerular diseases associated
with nephrotic syndrome and some metabolic
storage diseases, such as Fabry's disease [157].
Since renal tubular cells are difcult to
distinguish from transitional cells by unstained
bright-eld microscopy, many laboratories have
used the term ``small round epithelial cells'' to
describe both. This guideline recommends the
use of correct cytological terminology for cell
types if possible after appropriate training and

22

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

experience. If a laboratory decides to remain at

the basic level of differentiation for practical
reasons, the term small epithelial cell is accepted
(Table VI).
Casts: Casts are formed in the distal tubules
and collecting ducts [158] from aggregation and
gel-transformation of the brils of TammHorsfall glycoprotein (uromucoid). This material is produced by the cells of the ascending
limb of Henle's loop and forms the hyaline
matrix of most casts [159]. A precipitate, i.e. a
cast, is formed when the concentration of
dissolved organic and inorganic material
exceeds the saturation point of the normally
colloidal solution. Within casts, plasma proteins, lipids, different types of cells, microorganisms (bacteria or yeasts), pigments
(haemoglobin, myoglobin, bilirubin) and crystals may be found. Some hyaline casts may be
present in the concentrated morning urine of
healthy individuals. Casts, however, usually
reect the presence of renal disease. They are
specic but not sensitive markers of renal
disease.
Lipids (fat): Lipids are found in urine when
plasma lipoproteins leak through the damaged
basement membranes of glomeruli. As lipoprotein particles are larger than protein molecules,
lipiduria is typical of patients with heavy
proteinuria. Lipids are usually detected as
droplets, isolated or in clumps, lipid-laden
tubular epithelial cells (``oval fat bodies''),
cholesterol crystals or lipid-containing casts.
Microbes: Different microscopy methods vary
in sensitivity and their ability to detect and
permit the identication of bacteria. All methods
are relatively insensitive for the detection of
bacteria at concentrations below 108/L (105/mL),
although the presence of bacteria below this
concentration is important in selected groups of
patients, whether symptomatic or not [160, 161].
A separate Gram stain may be performed in
microbiological laboratories capable of interpreting it. Other organisms, such as yeasts and
Trichomonas vaginalis are common in the urine
of women with vaginitis. Schistosoma may also
be found on urine microscopy [162]. Urine
microscopy is not sensitive enough to exclude
urinary tract infections.
Crystals: In most instances, the nding of
crystals is not clinically relevant, since they may
occur as a consequence of transient supersaturation caused, for instance, by food rich in

urate or oxalate, or by in vitro changes in the

temperature (refrigeration) or pH of urine.
Detailed investigation for crystals in all
specimens is unwarranted. However, detection
of crystals has clinical value in subpopulations
of recurrent renal stone formers [163] (see also
Section 5.4.3). They may also be signicant for
some patients with acute renal failure [163]. In
such cases, crystalluria is the marker of a major
disorder and is diagnostically important. The
most typical examples are acute uric acid
nephropathy and ethylene glycol poisoning,
which is associated with calcium oxalate
monohydrate crystalluria. Therapeutic drugs
possibly crystallizing in urine include sulphadiazine, triamterene, acyclovir, indinavir and
vitamin C (see Annex 12.1.3 for details). All the
above circumstances are suggested by the
nding of either massive or atypical crystalluria,
including crystalline casts. When there is a high
clinical suspicion of their relevance, a specic
request should be made to the laboratory for
investigation of urine crystals.
Cystinuria can be detected by nding hexagonal plain crystals in urine (prevalence from
1:2000 in England to 1:100 000 in Sweden [133,
164]). A rapid procedure (cyanide-nitroprusside
examination) is also available [165]. To see
cystine crystals by microscopy, the specimen
should be acidied with acetic acid (at pHv6)
and kept refrigerated overnight to allow crystallization to occur. Rare 2,8-dihydroxyadenine
crystals occur in a genetic deciency of adenine
phosphoribosyltransferase
enzyme
[166].
Another very rare xanthine crystalluria occurs
in deciency of xanthine oxidase; the crystals
are easily confused with urate [135]. Tyrosine
and leucine crystals are associated with a severe
liver disease. Measurements of urinary (and
plasma) concentrations of amino acids are
recommended for conrmation of inborn
errors of amino acid metabolism.
Levels of differentiation Differentiation of the
above-mentioned particles by microscopy can
be divided into basic and advanced levels
(Table VI). The basic level for routine urine
microscopy is a positive, specic identication
of the usual formed elements (left column).
Some laboratories or clinical units report only
leukocytes, erythrocytes and bacteria. This
should be said clearly in the specications
given by the laboratory. The advanced level

European Urinalysis Guidelines

of urine microscopy usually provides evidence
of renal damage (right column, usually in chemical laboratories or nephrological units), or
species microbes in more detail, e.g. based
on Gram staining characteristics (microbiological laboratories). The suggested order of
process is that laboratories and nephrological
units rst decide between these two levels and
then dene the local detailed procedures to be
followed depending on the needs for urine
microscopy, be that in a clinical nephrology
unit or in a general or specialized laboratory.
6.2. Different techniques of visual microscopy
6.2.1. Hierarchy of microscopy methods. Reference method for urine microscopy (Level 4)
should provide both correct identication of
different particles and their accurate quantities
when measuring urine. Currently, no such
method exists. Standardization of the method
used is essential for improving accuracy and
limit of detection [2, 167, 168], independently
of the intended level of nal performance.
Special attention should be paid to different
sources of error [169, 170]. The centrifugation
step with removal of supernatant is a major
tool for concentration of the urine specimens,
but also a major source of errors.
6.2.2. Principles of comparison methods (Level 3).
6.2.2.1. Particle counting. Identication: Particle identication needs an optical method to
discern formed elements from their uid background and a differentiation method to allocate
these elements into correct classes (Table VI).
Bright-eld microscopy of unstained preparations is inadequate for detection of bacteria,
RBC and hyaline casts, and therefore for
advanced differentiation. For this reason, either
supravital staining [171, 172] or phase-contrast
microscopy [56], or both, is recommended.
Detection of microbes by Gram staining and
other special procedures, such as nucleic acid
amplication methods, are needed in the microbiology laboratory. Identication of elements
such as eosinophils, monocytes or all macrophages may require specic methods as well as
experienced evaluators. The latter may, however, be beyond the general need of rapid differentiation of urinary particles.
Counting: Concentrations of urinary particles

23

should be related to the original volume of

urine (in litres, L). Counting of native urine
avoids the error created by centrifugation. A
sufcient volume is needed to detect rare
particles related to renal damage (see Section
9.4). Particle concentrations at the low positive
range or upper reference limit in health can vary
up to 100% owing to the effect of pre-analytical
variables. In regard to this gure, a reliable
comparison level of enumeration of particles
has a negligible bias and imprecision to allow
correct classication of patients' results (see
Annex, Section 12.1.1 for further detail).
Automated instruments have improved precision by counting many more cells than visual
methods. They may be used for enumerating
elements for which their method has been
validated.
6.2.2.2. Bacteria counting (Slide centrifugation
z Gram staining procedure). The slide centrifuge method with Gram staining offers the
highest analytical sensitivity and reproducibility in the rapid detection of bacteria in urine,
although it is not a quantitative method. It
can therefore be used in Level 3 comparisons.
When a cut-off value of 108 colony-forming
bacteria/litre (CFB/L) in culture is taken, this
method has a sensitivity of 98% and a specicity of 90% against the culture [173]. These
performance gures were conrmed with specic patient populations in later studies, showing an overall sensitivity of 63% and
specicity of 91% at 106 CFB/L [174]. The
main disadvantage to this robust and consistent method is that it is very labour-intensive.
Details of the method are described further
under microbiological methods (Appendix,
Annex 13.5.1).
6.2.3. Routine identication methods for urine
particles (Level 2).
Standardized urine sediment under a coverslip. Standardized centrifuged urine sediment
should be investigated under a dened size
coverslip with a known volume of specimen in
the view eld (Appendix, Annex 12.1.2). This
is recommended as a routine visual procedure
in examination for kidney-related urine particles for the following reasons:
(1) The sediment method detects particles
indicating renal damage. With uncentrifuged

24

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

specimens, the investigator misses rare elements

(most importantly casts and renal tubular
epithelial cells) that are clinically signicant
but can be concentrated at low-speed centrifugation. To allow screening of a large volume,
i.e. up to 10 20 mL under a coverslip, a lowpower (e.g. 6100) magnication should always
be used in parallel to high-power (usually
6400) optics. It is understood that centrifugation methods are never quantitative in
counting RBC and WBC that are variably
lost during centrifugation. The procedure is
then prone to high uncertainty of certain
particle counts despite standardization.
(2) Differentiation of important formed elements (~ detection of renal damage) is easier
through a thin uid layer under a coverslip
(40 50 mm) than through the thicker uid layer
of a chamber (usually 100 mm high). A
thicker uid layer may require more focusing
levels to be examined.
Urine sediment counted in a chamber. Counting
concentrated, centrifuged sediments in a chamber has been advocated by some investigators
[168, 175] because of the large counting
volume (3.2 mL), which results in a more precise count and possibly a higher sensitivity
compared to uncentrifuged specimens counted
in a chamber. The easier performance of the
coverslip method on centrifuged sediment
makes this a preferred routine method over
chamber counting despite the lower precision.
The reference intervals of chamber counts (the
number of particles seen in the chamber) in
health vary because of the different concentration factors used in different systems [167,
176].
Gram staining. Correctly performed, examination of urine using a microscope will detect
bacteria which are either nutritionally fastidious and will not easily grow on standard
media, or which will only grow anaerobically,
but are nevertheless responsible for urinary
tract infection in a minority of patients.
Microbiology laboratories may benet from
their capability of interpreting Gram staining
when trying to reduce the total work-ow.
This staining has the added advantage of
immediately ascribing a Gram status to the
infecting organism. A specic model incorporating the results of Gram staining of uncentri-

fuged urine for diagnosis of urinary tract

infection in young women has also been
developed [177]. Uncentrifuged urine may be
accepted because bacteria are not concentrated
very much at low-speed centrifugation.
Reporting at ordinal scale is usually sufcient.
Details of Gram staining are described further
under microbiology methods (Appendix,
Annex 13.5.2).
Chamber counting of uncentrifuged specimens.
In some microbiology laboratories, simple
microscopy is used to improve the detection
of urinary tract infection only [178, 179].
Chambers were advocated originally to provide more precise leukocyte counts than those
obtained from sediment preparations, a nding of 10 or more leukocytes 6106/L representing signicant and abnormal levels of
leukocyturia [180 182]. Because centrifugation
results in a variable 20 80% loss of RBC and
WBC [170], no sediment method can be considered as reference for quantitative urinary
particle counting. Analytical sensitivity for
bacteria will be poor at lower concentrations
when compared with bacterial cultures. Performance gures for bacteriuria for techniques
using uncentrifuged samples of urine are very
variable, depending on the criteria used for
positivity in culture [183]. They will depend
also on operator experience, whether bacilli or
cocci are present, and on the degree of interference by debris. Sensitivity at the 107 bacteria/L (104 bacteria/mL) level usually exceeds
80%.
The major disadvantage of chamber counting
is that it tends to be time-consuming for routine
laboratory practice. Without staining or phase
contrast optics, differentiation of particles is not
sufcient for renal elements. The advantage of
precise, quantitative measurement of elements is
outweighed by cost as a routine procedure, but
chamber counting is useful as a comparison
method in instrument evaluations.
Filtration of urine particles. Filtration of urine
particles on supportive media allows recovery
of essentially all particles existing in a dened
volume of urine if remaining intact. This principle has been used to improve the sensitivity
to detect urine casts using a 3-mm pore size,
and starting from 20 100 mL of urine [184].
Another publication used ltering to examine

European Urinalysis Guidelines

physiological concentrations of RBC in urine
as detected by scanning electron microscopy
[185]. There is also a commercial version of
ltration which uses disposable syringes and
special equipment [176]. The losses of material
during ltration depend on the pore size and
pressure applied on the particles. Staining of
the preparations is needed for proper identication of particles, which may also cause lysis
of some cells.
6.2.4. Rapid microscopy methods (Level 1).
Non-standardized urine sediment under a coverslip. Traditional urine sediment is still investigated in many laboratories by pouring
supernatant after centrifugation, inserting a
drop of sediment under a coverslip and investigating an unknown volume under a microscopic vieweld. Without staining and using
bright-eld technique some of the elements
are not seen; with little knowledge of the differentiation of particles others are missed in
classication. In repeated routine process, this
procedure gives results associated with disease
conditions in an arbitrary ordinal scale.
Because of a wide uncertainty of results and
reduced sensitivity in detecting essential particles, non-standardized sediment procedure is
not recommended.
Microtitre tray method. Microbiology laboratories with a high throughput of samples
may consider the microtitre tray method

with an inverted microscope because it is

rapid, cheap and occupies very little bench
space (a basic inverted stage microscope tted
with a 96-well microtitre plate holder). A
xed volume of urine (usually 60 80 mL) is
placed in a well of a 96-well at-bottom
microtitre plate and allowed to settle. The
well is then examined using an inverted microscope. The presence or absence of white cells,
bacteria and red cells is noted on an ordinal
scale. The technique requires operator training, as differentiating (e.g.) cocci from debris
may be difcult. Disposable plastic 96-well
plates may not be available to all laboratories;
it is however perfectly possible to cold disinfect, wash and thoroughly dry plastic plates
and re-use them (see detail in Appendix,
Annex 13.5.3).
Test strip is used in many clinical environments to detect haematuria, pyuria or bacteriuria without microscopy [71].

6.3. Instrumental particle analysis

Mechanization of urine particle analysis
commenced with the introduction of automated
microscopes [186] and ow cytometry devices
[187, 188] about 20 years later than for blood
cell counting. New technology now offers the
opportunity to replace the basic level of particle
analysis (see Table VI). Renal damage is
partially detected by identifying some casts

TABLE VII. Clinical presentations for rapid bacteriuria detection.

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

Classical frequency/dysuria syndrome in young, low-risk women if clinically needed

Emergency medical services, as a rst rapid diagnostic examination
Screening for selected asymptomatic individuals, e.g., women in the antenatal clinic
Selecting specimens for extended investigation in the laboratory (Sections 7.3.6 and 8.2)

TABLE VIII. Medical indications for urine culture.

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)

25

Suspicion of acute pyelonephritis or febrile urinary tract infection

Suspicion of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections (possibility of reduced antibiotic sensitivity)
Suspicion of urinary tract infection in patients with a predisposing disease, such as patients with
diabetes or anomalies of the urinary tract, recurrent stone disease, or immunocompromised state
Patients failing rst line antimicrobial chemotherapy
Febrile patients with indwelling catheters
Clinical suspicion of urinary tract infection in men (symptomatic)
Clinical suspicion of urinary tract infection in pregnant women (symptomatic)
Suspicion of urinary tract infection in children and adolescents (symptomatic)

26

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

examinations for every patient suspected of
having urinary tract infection. A simple division
of the patients into usual, uncomplicated cases
suspected for lower urinary tract infection and
special or problematic cases will improve the
efciency of clinical laboratory practice.

and small epithelial cells [69] and microcytic

(small) erythrocytes [189]. Rational combination of automated and visual particle analysis
with chemical measurement and bacteriological
procedures is crucial in the new urinalysis workow strategy.

7.1.1. Clinical presentations requiring rapid

examination for bacteriuria. Rapid examinations are recommended in the situations listed
in Table VII. In recurrent acute lower urinary
tract infection from low-risk women (item 1),
no laboratory examinations are usually necessary when the symptoms are clear-cut [5, 6,
190]. If symptoms remain unclear, rapid methods for detecting bacteriuria help in the differential diagnosis of patients with medical
emergencies. Before classifying otherwise
healthy women into this group, anatomic
abnormalities in the urinary tract should be
considered (Table VIII). Usually asymptomatic bacteriuria should not be sought nor
treated to avoid enrichment of multi-resistant

7 . M I C R O B I OL OG Y
E X A M I N AT IO N S
7.1. Medical indications for microbiology
investigation of urine
The aims of urine bacterial culture are (a) to
identify aetiological agents of urinary tract
infection, i.e. relevant pathogens but also
mixed ora as a sign of contamination, (b) to
estimate the concentration of bacteria, (c) to
offer susceptibility testing for antimicrobial
treatment, and (d) to follow the effects of
antimicrobial treatment during the course of
urinary tract infection. In clinical practice,
however, it is not necessary to perform all

TABLE IX. The pathogenicity and frequency of micro-organisms in midstream urine.

Pathogenicity in the
urinary tract

Frequency (percent of isolates)

A. Common B. Fairly common
(w10%)
(1 10%)

I. Primary pathogens

II. Secondary pathogens

III. Doubtful pathogens

IV. Usually urethral or

genital orae
a

E. coli

C. Uncommon
(0.1 1%)

S. saprophyticus

Enterobacter spp.,
Enterococcus spp.,
Klebsiella spp.,
P. mirabilis,
P. aeruginosa
GBSc, Yeast,
CNS (others)d

Citrobacter spp.,
M. morganii,
P. vulgaris,
Serratia spp.,
S. aureus
Acinetobacter spp.,
Pseudomonas spp.,
Stenotrophomonas
maltophilia

a streptococci,
Bidobacterium spp.,
Gardnerella vaginalis, ``Diphtheroid'' rods, etc.
Lactobacilli, etc.

D. Rare
(v0.1%)
E. coli
CO2-dependent,
Salmonella spp.a
(Leptospira,
mycobacteria)
Corynebacterium
urealyticum,
Haemophilus spp.b
Pneumococcib
A great number
of reported cases
have been published
with exceptional
cases of infections
caused by other
species

Low concentrations are reported even if they are most likely caused by contamination during specimen
collection.
b
Most often isolated from children.
c
GBS~group B streptococci (S. agalactiae).
d
CNS~coagulase-negative staphylococci, urease-forming isolates or isolates found in patients with indwelling
catheters have increased signicance.
e
No identication and susceptibility testing (only exceptionally, if especially indicated).

European Urinalysis Guidelines

bacterial strains. However, screening of
selected clinical populations, such as pregnant
women, is warranted (Section 8.2.3).
7.1.2. Indications for urine bacterial culture
with identication of species and susceptibility
testing. Urine samples should be sent to the
bacteriology laboratory for quantitative culture and susceptibility testing from the patient
groups listed in Table VIII.
7.1.3. Indications for urine bacterial culture
after completed treatment. Low-risk women
who become asymptomatic after treatment for
acute cystitis do not need follow-up with a
post-treatment urine culture.
7.2. Microbes of the urinary tract
The presence of organisms in urine per se is
not diagnostic of infection. Species such as
Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus saprophyticus seem to be more aggressive than others and
may therefore be identied as primary pathogens (see below). Other factors, such as whether
urine is analysed as part of a screening
programme, bladder incubation time, coexisting
symptoms of infection, pregnancy and age, all
inuence the specicity attached to the presence
of any concentration of bacteria in urine. In
addition, the largest variable that is impossible
to control accurately is the technique of the
``mid-stream urine'' at the time of obtaining the
urine sample, which often is not perfect. Despite
instructions, a proportion of samples will
contain commensal contaminants which may
be present in large enough numbers to make
interpretation difcult. Diagnostic rules therefore depend on whether bacterial growth is pure
or mixed. This emphasizes the importance of a
laboratory system that insists on, and takes
account of, clinical details for individual specimens. It is not possible to provide effective
patient management if the results of urinary
investigation are not interpreted in the light of
clinical information.
Specic bacteria, e.g., those causing tuberculosis, leptospirosis, salmonellosis or sexually
transmitted diseases, such as N. gonorrhoeae or
C. trachomatis, and fungal infections need
special examination methods not discussed in
detail in these guidelines.

27

TABLE X. Examples of bacterial concentrations

expressed as traditional colony-forming units and
recommended colony-forming bacteria.
Conventional unit
(CFU/mL)
1
103
105

Standardized unit
(CFB/L)
103
106
108

7.2.1. Classication based on uropathogenicity.

The classication of pathogens causing urinary
tract infections is given in Table IX. Different
groups of micro-organisms have been classied into 16 categories based on four degrees
of pathogenicity (I IV) and frequency in clinical populations (A D) [7]. The cut-offs
between the degree of uropathogenicity and
species frequency should not be interpreted as
strict and unchangeable. The table is merely
an attempt to organize many years' experience
in clinical microbiology [5, 6, 191, 192, 193].
Pathogenicity may be classied as follows:
I. Primary pathogenic species: Species that have
the ability to cause urinary tract infection in
individuals with normal urinary tracts. This
group consists of E. coli and S. saprophyticus.
Also found in this group are certain rare
primary pathogens and other species which
should be reported according to national
regulations, e.g. Salmonella spp.
II. Secondary pathogenic species: Species that
seldom cause primary infection in patients with
normal urinary tracts, but often occur in
hospital-acquired urinary tract infection. Klebsiella spp. (species), Enterobacter spp., Proteus
spp., Morganella morganii, S. aureus and
Enterococcus spp. are a few common examples.
III. Doubtful pathogenic species: Skin ora and
other species. Those sometimes colonize in
hospitalized patients and cause hospital-acquired
urinary tract infection. The culture ndings can
only be considered relevant if suprapubic
aspiration has been performed. Even if coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) occasionally
cause urinary tract infection, ndings are often
a sign of contamination and have a low
predictive value.
IV. Urethral/genital ora: Species belonging to
normal urogenital ora. These often contaminate voided and drawn urine samples. They are

28

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE XI. Diagnostic performance of different cut-offs for ``signicant'' coliform bacteriuria in women with
acute voiding difculties (160).
Mid-stream urine (CFB/L)

105
106
108

Sensitivity

0.95
0.81
0.51

examined for antimicrobial susceptibility only

in exceptional cases (when especially indicated).
This group has been introduced to give more
detail for clinical interpretation and to minimize
false positives.
7.2.2. Background for limits of clinically signicant bacteriuria.
7.2.2.1. Unit recommended for expressing bacterial concentrations. New technologies for
direct particle counting and development in
standardization of nomenclature ask for a
redenition of the unit used to report bacterial concentrations. The classical ``colony-forming unit/millilitre'' (CFU/mL) has the pitfalls
that the word ``unit'' should be used as an
abstraction rather than count of visible things
such as bacteria, and millilitre is not the standardized volume to express concentrations.
Therefore, bacterial particle concentrations are
recommended to be expressed as bacteria/litre
(L) in a way similar to cells in body uids.
When grown on agar, the living bacteria
appear as colonies, corresponding to a standardized unit colony-forming bacteria/litre
(CFB/L). Equivalence is given in Table X.
7.2.2.2. Traditional Kass's criteria. Evaluating
urine culture ndings has long been dominated by Kass's criteria for signicant bacteriuria. Kass found that 95% of women with
pyelonephritis had 108 CFB/L (105 CFU/
mL) of one bacterial species in a clean-catch
mid-stream urine, and that such a nding in
two consecutive mid-stream urine specimens in
asymptomatic women would, with 95% probability, give the same result in a third midstream urine specimen [194, 195]. Thus, in
order to diagnose asymptomatic bacteriuria
with reasonable accuracy, 108 CFB/L of the
same bacterial species was necessary in two
mid-stream urine samples obtained within an
interval of a few days. Kass also showed that

Specicity

0.85
0.90
0.99

Predictive value
Positive

Negative

0.88
0.90
0.98

0.94
0.82
0.65

TABLE XII. Possible causes of low bacterial concentrations in mid-stream urine.

Early stage of infection
High volume rate (diuresis)
Urgency symptoms (short bladder incubation time)
Presence of antibiotics in urine
Low pH in urine
Slow bacterial growth
Contaminated specimen

v107 CFB/L indicated contamination during

sample collection, whereas bacterial concentration in the interval of 107 v108 CFB/L was
difcult to interpret. Despite the fact that the
criteria were developed for acute pyelonephritis and asymptomatic bacteriuria in women,
they began to be used generally, even for
symptomatic lower urinary tract infection.
Only the discovery that S. saprophyticus was a
common cause of seasonal, aggressive cystitis
in younger women resulted in the cut-off of
signicant
growth
being
lowered
to
107 CFB/L in these cases.
7.2.2.3. Signicance of low bacterial concentration in urine. Stamm et al. examined 187 sexually active young women with dysuria and
urinary urgency [160]. Cultures of mid-stream
urine samples were compared to urine cultures
obtained through suprapubic aspiration or
urethral catheterization. ``Coliform'' (the term
is not dened in Stamm's article and most
likely refers to Enterobacteriaceae or lactosepositive Enterobacteriaceae) bacteria were isolated from bladder urine in 98 (52%) women,
whereas non-coliform bacteria such as S.
saprophyticus, S. aureus and enterococci were
cultured in 26 (14%). The women who had
``coliform'' bacteria in bladder urine were
further analysed regarding the number of
CFB/L. If 108 CFB/L mid-stream urine was
used as a cut-off for ``signicant'' bacteriuria,
the sensitivity was 51% and the negative pre-

European Urinalysis Guidelines

dictive value was 65% (Table XI). Specicity
was high. If, on the other hand, a cut-off of
105 CFB/L mid-stream urine was used, the
sensitivity was 95% with a negative predictive
value of 94%, whereas specicity declined
from 99% to 85%. Among the 48 who had
v108 CFB/L mid-stream urine of ``coliform''
bacteria, at least one additional bacterial species was isolated in 35 cases, i.e. there was
mixed ora.
Thus, low cut-off of ``coliform'' bacteria in
mid-stream urine more accurately predicted
bladder infection in symptomatic women than
in asymptomatic. The main differences between
Kass's and Stamm's studies were the prevalence
of infection in the patient populations, as well as
the presence of symptoms (dysuria). Thus, the
chosen cut-off for ``signicant'' bacteriuria should
be adjusted to the population under examination.
Many additional studies support the observation that low bacterial concentrations of E. coli
in particular have diagnostic relevance, even in
mixed ora [33, 196 205). Findings of E. coli
have been interpreted as the rst phase in
urethritis in an ascending infection. Causes of
low bacterial concentrations in mid-stream
urine are given in Table XII. Short bladder
incubation time (see also Section 3.3.3) is a less
important factor than the lowered cut-offs for
signicance in symptomatic individuals. On the
basis of available information, the cut-offs
could be set even lower than those proposed
in Table XIII, but with the risk of a lower
specicity, leading to a decreased predictive
value of positive results for clinical urinary tract
infection. The importance of specicity should
be stressed in diagnostic practice.
7.2.2.4. Mixed cultures. Most acute uncomplicated urinary tract infections result from one
bacterial species. The isolation of more than
one organism from a single specimen of urine
must always be interpreted in the light of (a)
whether one organism is dominant, (b) how
the sample was collected (chronic catheterization versus mid-stream specimen), (c) the presence of other features suggesting either true
infection (presence of WBC) or contamination
(presence of squamous epithelial cells), and
(d) clinical signs, symptoms and history. True
infection with two species (even three occasionally) may occur. Policies concerning how
such mixed growths are subsequently investi-

29

gated and reported should vary according to

the local case mix and should not interfere
with the needs of specic patients.
7.2.3. Laboratory-related decision limits for
``signicant'' bacteriuria. The following decision
limits for diagnostic laboratory workup are
proposed (Table XIII) [7]. They should guide
the practical process. Consideration has been
given to symptoms, bacteria category, number
of species isolated, method of specimen collection and gender. One should note the uncertainty of quantitation when using routine loop
cultures. A count of 36106 CFB/L (3 colonies
on a plate with a 1 mL loop) is more than
106 CFB/L, but reproducibility may be within
a condence interval of 1 106106 CFB/L in
routine work. Few laboratories report one
colony (1 colony with a 1 mL loop ~106 CFB/
L). It is obvious that the symptoms and clinical
status of patients are important when evaluating culture results. This implies that considerably greater attention must be paid to the
information given on the request and report
forms (Appendix, Annex 10.1).
The cut-offs for symptomatic urinary tract
infection caused by primary pathogens (E. coli
and S. saprophyticus, Table IX) are set at
106 CFB/L in mid-stream urine specimens.
For secondary pathogens (group II), lower cutoffs of 107 CFB/L mid-stream urine for
women and 106 CFB/L mid-stream urine
for men are recommended. For men, the risk
of contamination during specimen collection is
much smaller, increasing the specicity of low
bacterial concentrations. For doubtful pathogenic bacteria (group III) a cut-off of
108 CFB/L in mid-stream urine is proposed
for pure culture in symptomatic patients.
If symptoms are absent, the classical
criteria apply for asymptomatic bacteriuria:
108 CFB/L of the same bacterial species (in
two consecutive mid-stream urine specimens,
or, alternatively, a positive specic rapid
examination and 108 CFB/L mid-stream
urine in one sample).
When two species are present in mid-stream
urine, it is proposed that only these be regarded
in symptomatic patients and that the cut-offs
are set at 106 CFB/L for primary pathogens
and at 108 CFB/L for secondary pathogens.
When more than two species are isolated from
mid-stream urine, only ndings of primary

30

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE XIII. Suggested limiting concentrations of bacteria colonies justifying identication and susceptibility
testing in the laboratory.
Symptomsa and
specimens

Inoculum,
min volume

Mid-stream urine specimen:

Yesa
1 mL

Species typeb and number

I
II
II
II
III
I III
I

1 2c
1
1
2
1
1
1 3c

Noa
Yes (Special)
10 mLd
Suprapubic aspiration specimen
Yes or no
100 mLe
I IV
12
Specimen from cystoscopy or single urethral catheterisation:
I III
12
Yes or no
10 mLd
Specimen from indwelling catheter:
Yes
1 mL
I III
1 3f
No
1 mL
I III
1f

Signicant colony concentration

CFB/L

(CFU/mL)

106
107 (women)
106 (men)
108
108
108
105

(103)
(104)
(103)
(105)
(105)
(105)
(102)

104

(101)

105

(102)

107
108,

(104
(105, f)

Yes~The patient has symptoms, No ~ No symptoms, or no information about symptoms.

Suggestive category based on growth characteristics (see Table IX). Species of normal urogenital ora (IV) are
examined for susceptibility only if especially indicated.
c
Usually, only one species is identied if 2 5 similar colonies grow (as locally agreed) and antimicrobial
susceptibility is examined. Occasionally, two species may be identied for specic patient populations. Three or
more species are usually reported as ``mixed culture'' and considered as contaminants. Susceptibility testing of
isolates from mid-stream urine specimens as well as other detailed strategic decisions need local clinical and
microbiological consultation.
d
In routine workup, a 1-mL loop is practical. However, in specic patient groups, such as in patients with
certain urological diseases, or in a precise evaluation of patients with simple cystitis, a result at 105 CFB/L
2
(10 CFU/mL) and a statistically reliable culture result at 106 CFB/L (103 CFU/mL) may be clinically signicant.
This is obtained only by using a 10-mL loop. This sensitized culture procedure should be specially requested to
avoid inadvertent extra work and costs caused by routine application of a 10-mL loop for all specimens.
e
Suprapubic aspiration specimens should be cultured from a 100 mL inoculum to reach the highest sensitivity,
since w104 CFB/L (101 CFU/mL) and a statistically reliable culture result at 105 CFB/L (102 CFU/mL) may be
signicant.
f
Three species are isolated on special request only from symptomatic patients (suspicion of pyelonephritis or
urosepsis). Susceptibility testing from catheter specimens is done only for E. coli and Gram-negative bacteria if
they are present at concentration of 107 CFB/L (104 CFU/mL) per species, or more. For asymptomatic patients, a
higher limit of signicant growth (108 CFB/L) is suggested for Gram-negative bacteria.
b

pathogens are reported. When no primary

pathogens grow, ``mixed culture'' is noted.
Lower cut-offs are proposed for samples
obtained via suprapubic aspiration, cystoscopy
and single (in-and-out) urethral catheterization.
Samples from patients with indwelling catheters
are handled depending on symptomatology: In
symptomatic patients all isolates are considered
for identication and susceptibility testing. In
asymptomatic individuals the analysis is focused
on Gram-negative rods.
Findings of bacteria belonging to the normal
ora of the urethra and genitalia (group IV) are
reported as specimen contamination. Further
examination should be done only if especially
indicated after individual evaluation.

The reduced cut-offs for ``signicant''

bacteriuria necessitate cultures performed on
larger volumes of urine. With inoculation of
10 mL, one colony would then correspond to
105 CFB/L. When culturing suprapubic aspiration specimens, a 100-mL inoculum is recommended to approach the sensitivity 104 CFB/
L. A statistically reliable positive result (using
the limit of 10 colonies on a plate) corresponds
to 106 CFB/L (10 mL inoculum) and 105 CFB/L
(100 mL inoculum), respectively.
7.3. Bacterial cultures
The culture methodology is structured into
three levels to satisfy different clinical and

European Urinalysis Guidelines

bacteriological needs (see Section 5.1 for general
denitions): Qualied comparison methods
(Level 3; due to the lack of documented
reference methods), quantitative eld methods
(Level 2) and ordinal scale or rapid methods
(Level 1). Individual laboratories and their
customer clinicians must decide, on the basis
of local patient populations and resources, the
way in which urine cultures should be organized
locally.
7.3.1. Comparison method for bacterial culture
(Level 3). A qualied comparison method
(Level 3) is needed to establish traceability of
local variations in technology. This method
can also be chosen for individual patients or
patient groups. The indication for more
extensive culture is usually evaluation of
results from routine methodology, or from
other examinations suggestive for urinary
tract infection, such as those from rapid
examinations.
Inoculum: Since the cut-off for detection of
bacteriuria is reduced, a greater culture inoculum is necessary. With a precisely pipetted
10-mL inoculum, a culture result of 106 CFB/L
is equivalent to 10 colonies on the agar surface,
whereas 105 CFB/L equals only 1 colony on a
plate. At 10 colonies, a minimum imprecision
CV~30% (SD~d10) is due to the uneven
distribution of bacteria in the urine. For more
critical applications, such as evaluation of a
particle analyser, a more accurate procedure is
needed, e.g., by pipetting 100 mL volumes of
serially diluted specimens (see Annex 13.1.).
Culture: The quantitative culture should be
performed on CLED agar in aerobic, on blood
agar in anaerobic, and haematin agar in CO2
conditions for 48 h, as opposed to the 24-h
incubation of CLED agar in the routine
method. Comparisons with blood agar are
particularly important to describe and follow
the reliability of the routine culture method for
accreditation of microbiological diagnostic procedures. The blood agar under anaerobic
conditions is recommended in parallel for the
following reasons: it serves as a quantitative
reference, reveals false-negative results on
CLED plates, improves the isolation of
Gram-positive bacteria, assists with the identication of isolated species and helps in
differentiating contaminants from uropathogenic species, thereby increasing diagnostic

31

specicity. Details of the comparison method

for bacterial culture are explained in Appendix,
Annex 13.1.
7.3.2. Routine cultures on plates. Common
sense is obviously needed in a clinical bacteriological laboratory to ensure both high clinical sensitivity and high specicity of routine
reports. This may be inuenced by the microbiology traditions and costs of health care in
different countries. The ideal in terms of
patient preparation, specimen collection and
transport, and nally in the analytical process
may not be attainable. Previously suggested
signicance limits and volumes of inocula
(Table XIII) serve as goals for optimal practice. Expert microbiology advice is necessary
in
locations
possessing
only
minimal
resources.
Inoculum: A 1-mL disposable loop inoculum
is accepted for routine practice although it is
less than optimal. On special request, higher
volumes should be used as recommended.
Statistical reliability starts at 107 CFB/L with
a 1-mL inoculum, but this is also inuenced by
the accuracy of the uid volume in the loop.
The statistical unreliability of 2 3 colonies
growing on a plate is understood and considered when expressing the limits of signicant
growth in Table XIII, but accepted in routine
practice.
Culture: Quantitative culture should be performed at least on a relatively non-selective agar
plate, such as Cystine-Lactose Electrolyte Decient (CLED) medium. Alternatives to CLED
agar also exist [5]. In addition, culture on blood
agar is recommended as an optimum approach
([6, 7]; see Appendix, Annex 13.2). Incubation
for 24 h is sufcient though not optimal as
routine. It can be less reliable when fastidious
organisms cause infection or when mixed
culture is obtained. Inoculation of four different
specimens on a single plate (``quarter-plate
technique'') is prone to contamination and
reading problems. It is, however, understood
that it appears advantageous particularly in
large laboratories with high throughput. Strategies to reduce the number of non-signicant
bacterial cultures are highly encouraged to
improve the quality of those cultures that are
clearly indicated.
The uncertainties of the routine process
should be controlled by the comparison

32

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

method (Section 7.3.1). The addition of blood

agar incubation in a CO2 atmosphere for 1z1
days will increase both sensitivity and specicity. Depending on the success of these adjustments, the routine process may be considered as
a quantitative method (Level 2) or an ordinal
scale method only (Level 1). Details of routine
culture are included in Appendix, Annex 13.2.
7.3.3. Dipslide cultures. Dipslide cultures can
be considered suitable for identifying negative
specimens and those with signicant growth
of E. coli at ordinal scale level (Level 1). For
reliable results, reading by laboratory professionals, or special training to clinical personnel is recommended.
The urine dipslide system has developed from
devices originally designed over 30 years ago
[206]. It presently consists of agar media coating
both sides of an immersible plastic paddle that
can be dipped in urine at point-of-care, and sent
to the laboratory in a sealable universal
container. Media usually consist of a relatively
non-selective agar such as CLED on one side
and a Gram-negative selective medium such as
MacConkey on the other. There may also be a
third section of agar that detects beta-glucuronidase activity by producing brown or black
colonies [207]. These devices provide comparable results to those obtained using standard
loop inoculation methods [208], and may be
useful where delays between the point-of-care
and the laboratory are either unavoidable,
unpredictable, or both, and where no facilities
for refrigeration are available. In two studies,
the selective agar has been shown to have a high
sensitivity (95.5%, 92%) and specicity (97.2%,
100%) for detecting E. coli in urine [207, 209].
These studies were performed in clinical microbiological laboratories and did not evaluate
the interpretation of dipslide cultures by
primary health care personnel.
Problems with species identication: Estimating growth on CLED compared to MacConkey
agar in order to differentiate Gram-positive
from Gram-negative bacteria has far too many
sources of error to be useful in practice. For
example, enterococci and staphylococci can
grow weakly on MacConkey, fungi grow on
MacConkey and certain Pseudomonas species
do not grow on MacConkey agar. In addition,
the dipslide technique does not allow identication of Staphylococcus saprophyticus.

Problems with quantitation: Inoculum on a

dipslide is not reproducible. Any colony count
is therefore uncertain. At high bacterial
concentrations, conuent growth necessitates a
subculture for identication. Mixed ora may
also be missed.
To reduce the risk of false interpretation,
dipslide-culturing should be viewed as an
ordinal scale method for bacteriuria, combined
with the possibility of identifying E. coli. It may
be possible to satisfactorily handle up to 90% of
ambulatory urine cultures requested for suspected urinary tract infection with this simpler
rapid procedure. Details of the method are
described in the Appendix, Annex 13.3.
7.3.4. Enrichment cultures. Enrichment cultures
from urine using bottled broth media are discouraged because no quantitative results are
obtained. Specicity is poor due to inevitable
overgrowth of commensal organisms.
7.3.5. Identication of species. A proposal for
identifying species of urinary isolates in routine
diagnostics is compiled in the Appendix,
Annex 13.4. It is based on the practice where
cultures are performed on CLED and blood
agar. The tabular data suggest at least the minimum criteria for identication of each species.
7.3.6. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The
goal of susceptibility testing is to allow the
clinician to choose the correct antibiotic for
individual urinary tract infections, and to help
in investigating the reason for treatment failure. The antibiotic sensitivity of pathogenic
organisms should usually be examined when
isolated in clinically signicant concentrations.
To reduce the workload in laboratories, it is,
however, sufcient to rely on the predicted
antibiotic sensitivity of individual bacterial species when community-acquired lower urinary
tract infection is suspected in low-risk female
patients, and the information on local resistance in strains is available (then, even bacterial culture may be unnecessary). The antibiotic
sensitivity patterns of individual species vary
considerably according to location, patient
case mix and background antibiotic usage.
Choice of method. Standardized disc diffusion
is the frequently used method. Nonstandardized disk diffusion, so-called ``direct

European Urinalysis Guidelines

antimicrobial susceptibility testing'', is used in
many laboratories to increase the speed of
diagnostics. Comparisons have shown a 96%
agreement with the standardized practice
[210 212]. The method can be useful provided adequate exclusion criteria are in place.
Trained personnel should be responsible for
the method and it should not be used on
mixed culture or on low bacterial concentrations (v 108 CFB/L) because the results are
not clear-cut. Thus, rapid methods can assist
by allowing laboratories to incorporate direct
susceptibility testing into their work-ow only
for those specimens with abnormalities likely
to represent a true infection (Fig. 1).
Several alternative microdilution methods are
commercially available for automated or semiautomated susceptibility testing. Some of these
provide acceptable accuracy in comparison with
the traditional reference methods for antimicrobial susceptibility testing; they also provide
results within a working day or sooner.
Further specic instructions concerning the
procedures for antimicrobial susceptibility testing are beyond the scope of this document.
Guidelines exist that describe how such examinations should be performed, such as the British
document [213], the NCCLS document [214] and
reports of the Swedish Society of Medicine's
Reference Group for Antibiotics (SRGA-M)
[215], and German guidelines [216]. Local
recommendations on the practice and minimum

33

selection of antibiotics are advised to increase

clinical effectiveness of antimicrobial susceptibility testing and to direct clinicians to the use
of inexpensive and effective antibiotics least
likely to generate resistance.
7.3.7. Detection of antimicrobials in urine. Antimicrobial drugs can lead to failure of bacterial
growth despite the presence of large numbers
of bacteria in the urine. If bacteria or leukocytes are detected by microscopy, confusion
occurs if no subsequent growth is seen. We
suggest the following as the most economic
approach: Request forms should be designed so
that the presence and type of antibiotic therapy
can be documented by the requesting physician
at the time the specimen is sent (see Appendix,
Annex 10.1.1). This will eliminate the necessity
to perform any examinations.
If clinical information on ingested antibiotics
by the patient cannot be easily transferred, a
surrogate method is to measure concentrations
of the most common anti-microbial agents in
urine. Laboratories may also choose to detect
antimicrobial activity (AMA) by placing a drop
of urine on a lawn of sensitive E. coli; a zone of
growth inhibition will form in a positive case on
the site where the urine was placed. Another
option is Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633) grown on
Mueller-Hinton agar [6]. A report stating that
antimicrobial activity was detected is then given.

FIG. 1. Application of direct susceptibility testing in microbiological investigation of urine specimens.

34

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

7.3.8. Automation of bacterial culture. For

large microbiology laboratories, automated
urine culture may be an option in addition to
the methods used for rapid detection of
potentially positive cultures. Several automated systems exist which satisfy the requirements of Level 2 cultures. Advances in
technology mean that laboratories, especially
large ones, will be tempted to assess analysers
that can replace expensive manual work.
Finally, it is recommended that any new automated technique be assessed against acceptable Level 3 comparison methods. Evaluation
should preferably be three-way, where performance is also compared to the currently used
method (usually not Level 3).
7.4. Bacterial detection by non-culture (rapid)
methods
There is a need for high performance rapid
methods for the detection of bacteria in urine.
This applies for the routine laboratory handling
of large numbers of specimens, for emergency
diagnostics and for detection of asymptomatic
bacteriuria in selected patients groups, such as
pregnant women. Development of analytically
sensitive and specic rapid procedures for
detection of bacteria is encouraged both for
adults and children [217].
Sensitivity view: A high performance highthroughput screening procedure with low falsenegative rates (ideally v10%) would identify
true negative specimens and allow signicant
reduction in costly and unnecessary urine
culture. Health care savings would then be
achieved even in the face of an appreciable
false-positive rate. The validation of method
performance for detection of bacteria at concentrations less than 108/L (v105/mL) becomes
very important.
Specicity view: Acutely ill patients need an
examination with high specicity (preferably
w90%) to demonstrate the presence of bacteria
reliably when the clinical presentation is not
obvious from symptoms and signs. In these
cases, a positive specic result from a rapid
diagnostic procedure supports a correct immediate treatment decision, while the rest of the
cases await results from bacterial cultures [218].
A typical question is how does a method correctly classify contaminants and debris as
negatives.

Measurement principles. Multiple test strips

including the nitrite eld are described in Section 5.3.1. Several new technical developments
have been suggested [63, 67, 70, 93, 132, 219
222]. These include enzymatic examinations
based on adenosine triphosphatase/luciferase,
catalase or glucose oxidase, ltration methods,
advanced microscopy of Gram stained smears
and automated ow cytometry. Some of these
methods are well suited to point-of-care testing, but sensitivity and specicity of procedures
must be investigated and quoted in relation to
the patient population studied. Others require
laboratory-based experience for their performance, interpretation, or both.
Urine particle analysis is discussed in Section
6. Bacterial analysis may theoretically adopt
either direct particle counting (of living and
dead bacteria) or automated rapid culturing of
urine in selected media. Laboratory staff must
remember that these analysers may detect
particles and not growth. In microbiology
evaluation, the arising new view is that some
specimens may contain true, aggressive pathogens that do not grow on conventional agar
plates. There may also be the issue concerning
the presence of antibiotics in the urine that
inhibit growth. Finally, it should be noted that
automated techniques assigning Gram status to
organisms were very helpful since they could
predict effective antibiotic treatment.

8. STEP WISE ST RATEGIES I N

U R IN A L Y S I S
8.1. Examinations for general patient
populations
Most of the costs arising from screening
programmes result from the need for conrmation of positive ndings. Screening of completely unselected individuals, i.e. at general
epidemiological level, is discouraged except for
research purposes. Selected asymptomatic individuals may be investigated if justied by cost/
benet analyses, e.g., pre-school children or
pregnant women [88, 223]. Examinations for
diseases in kidneys and urinary tract can be
recommended for many clinical populations
(~patients attending health care services in
hospitals or at ambulatory clinics because of
their symptoms or diseases), but not for all

European Urinalysis Guidelines

patient groups. Use of urine test strips, as well
as of other laboratory measurements, should
always be associated with prognostic signicance [224]. The outlined strategy has been
derived from earlier recommendations [2, 123,
225, 226].
In addition to the minimum properties shown
(Fig. 2), acute cases generally benet from
measurements of urinary glucose, ketone bodies
and pH (urine stone formers). The strategy is
only an average general approach and not
sensitive to the individual needs of patients.
These strategic proposals are designed to
improve the general efciency of urinalysis.
Clinical decisions should be based on direct
patient data; laboratory and imaging methods
provide ancillary information only. The recommendations presented describe some approaches
based on the diagnostic performance of the
methods available. The term ``rst visit'' refers
to the initial diagnostic investigations; the
follow-up investigations should be based on
evaluation of detailed needs. Consultation of a
nephrologist, clinical specialist for infectious
diseases, internist, paediatrician or another
specialist may be necessary to plan all medically
required investigations. A multiple urine examination should be performed at point-of-care or
in the laboratory as locally agreed.
8.1.1. Detection of urinary tract infection. It is
important to clearly differentiate high-risk
patients from low-risk (recurrent female) cystitis patients when applying any diagnostic strategies for symptomatic patients suspected for
urinary tract infection (see Section 7.1 for
denitions and 8.2 for strategic proposals).
Acute cases may also benet from a laboratory result within 0.5 2.0 h, while a highly
specic result, such as that from bacterial
culture, serves to nally classify cases even
after 1 2 days.
Some clinical patients may have general or
vague symptoms that were not associated with
urinary tract infection initially. These cases then
appear as unexpected ndings. Exclusion of
urinary tract infection at a cut-off of 108 CFB/L
is possible from concentrated morning specimens with a sensitivity of 90% by rapid methods
(see Sections 5.3.1 and 7.4). Urine microscopy
should be performed to detect possible renal
involvement if relevant. In cases of so-called
``sterile pyuria'' (no usual uropathogens grown

35

despite a standardized specimen) it may be

appropriate to perform additional investigations to detect or isolate organisms with special
growth requirements (Chlamydiae, gonococci,
Mycobacterium tuberculosis and fungal infections) by collecting another appropriate specimen
and investigating it accordingly.
General screening of asymptomatic individuals for bacteriuria should be avoided.
Bacterial culture is initiated only if the
asymptomatic bacteriuria is going to be treated
with high probability (Section 8.2.3 for detailed
patient groups).
8.1.2. Detection of proteinuria. Transient proteinuria is a fairly common nding among
acutely ill patients [227] even if detected at the
traditional 0.2 g/L albumin level. In these
cases, an occasional positive result may lead
to inappropriate investigations. Exclusion of
transient proteinuria is accomplished by
repeated measurement and review of anamnestic data.
Quantitative specic measurements are generally not part of a primary screening process
for general patient populations; they are secondline investigations. Total albumin or protein
quantitation can be requested if not already
the rst-line method as albumin or total
protein/creatinine ratio (or albumin or protein/
osmolality ratio), or as measurement of 24-h
protein excretion rate. Orthostatic (postural)
proteinuria can be identied by separate day
and overnight collections. Selected patient
groups do require a sensitive protein determination to detect renal damage already in the rst
line. In addition to albumin and a tubular
marker protein, immunoglobulin light chain
determinations may be important (see Section
8.3).
8.1.3. Detection of haematuria. Exclusion of
other coloured substances (red beets, porphyria, drugs; Table II, page 14) should
always be a rst thought. Particle analysis is
needed to obtain a count of RBC excretion
from a standardized specimen. Renal elements
may be seen on urine microscopy. The RBC
should be assessed for isomorphism, dysmorphism and the presence of acanthocytes if
no proteinuria is present. This must be performed in a laboratory capable of distinguishing the different types of RBC morphology.

36

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

FIG. 2.

Urinalysis examinations for general patient populations.

European Urinalysis Guidelines

An alternative approach is differentiation of
the bleeding site based on urinary IgG/albumin and alpha-2 macroglobulin/albumin ratios
as measured in a centralized laboratory [123].
Urine sediment examination only occasionally offers additional information after a teststrip measurement in unselected emergencies
[71], but it helps in predicting renal damage if
investigated carefully from a standardized
specimen [22]. When the test-strip result is
negative for erythrocytes, leukocytes and
albumin/protein, sediment microscopy is not
generally warranted [228, 229]. Automated
particle counting possesses higher precision
than visual urine sediment examination, but it
may not detect all signicant renal elements
[69].
A clinical (urological and/or nephrological)
consultation is usually needed to search for
possible local or systemic diseases causing
haematuria. The presence of a haemorrhagic
diathesis should not be forgotten. Urothelial
and renal cancers often present as unexpected
haematuria. On the contrary, prostatic cancer
rarely presents with haematuria or proteinuria.
Detection and follow-up of prostate cancer is
undertaken by measurements of serum PSA
(prostate-specic antigen), currently as total
and free PSA molecules. Screening for bladder
tumour cell antigens in urine is under development. Experienced cytopathologists must interpret urothelial tumour cell cytology.
8.2. Detection of urinary tract infection,
specic populations
The suggested sieving strategy to reduce the
number of bacterial cultures in patients suspected for urinary tract infections (UTI) is
illustrated in Fig. 3. Cultures of low-risk
patients are not needed [207, 219] with given
precautions.
This strategy can be difcult to follow exactly
because of problems with specicity, such as
contamination and false-positive reactions, and
sensitivity, because rapid detection methods for
uropathogenic bacteria are not perfect to date.
Despite this, such strategies should help in
reducing traditional cultures markedly, but
should remain sensitive to needs of problematic
or specic cases. For example, it may be
acceptable to use a highly specic rapid
examination for identifying positive patients

37

and for excluding them from further investigations for urinary tract infection, whilst it is
understood that such sieving strategies must not
be applied in high-risk cases.
8.2.1. Symptomatic low-risk patients. Low- and
high-risk patients with respect to urinary tract
infection were dened in Section 7.1. Low-risk
patients with suspicion of lower urinary tract
infection can be examined as follows: No
investigations are needed if the diagnosis is
clear from the symptomatology. Empirical
treatment can be justied with known local
epidemiology of community-acquired infection.
If the symptoms are not clear, a specic
examination (specicity w90 95% for uropathogens) allows a rapid conrmation of
bacteriuria and justies treatment. Symptomatic low-risk cases remaining negative with
the specic rapid examination (during emergency hours) should be treated or investigated
by a culture method after obtaining a standardized morning specimen.
Follow-up of low-risk patients should be
organized as follows: if no symptoms remain after treatment, no further examination
is needed. If symptoms persist, bacterial
culture with antibiotic susceptibility testing is
warranted.
Epidemiology of uropathogens: The prerequisite for treatment of urinary tract infection
without bacterial cultures is an epidemiological
knowledge of uropathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibilities within a local community. This gives valuable information on
relapsing infections often due to reduced
antibiotic susceptibility of the species. National
and regional efforts to create and maintain
these data are encouraged.
8.2.2. Symptomatic high-risk patients. Specimens from symptomatic high-risk patients
should always be cultured for uropathogenic
bacteria both to conrm the diagnosis and to
ensure treatment (with the help of antimicrobial susceptibility testing). Urgency of micturition may prevent sufcient bladder incubation
time, leading frequently to false-negative
results even with culture methods. Signicant growth may be as low as 105 106 CFB/
L (corresponding to 102 103 CFU/mL), occasionally needing a culture with a 10-mL (or
even 100-mL) inoculum to reach this sensitivity

38

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

FIG. 3.

A sieving strategy to reduce requests for bacterial cultures.

reliably. The specicity of low-count ndings

should be considered. Local microbiological
consultation is recommended to establish
rational routine processes.
8.2.3. Asymptomatic bacteriuria. The need for
investigation of asymptomatic individuals is
questionable. Liberal treatment of patients
with asymptomatic bacteriuria by using antimicrobials results in development of multiresistant strains that replace the less dangerous original species.

Exceptions to be treated may include pregnant women (a prevalence of about 5% for

asymptomatic bacteriuria), some patients
undergoing urogenital surgery (if the indwelling
catheter is going to be used postoperatively) or
receiving organ transplant, and many immunocompromised individuals. During pregnancy,
bacteriuria is treated to prevent symptomatic
infection and premature birth [230, 231]. A
rapid method, reaching analytical sensitivity
w90 95% at 108 CFB/L (equal to 105 CFU/
mL) when compared to bacterial culture is

European Urinalysis Guidelines

recommended, with conrmatory culture of
positive cases.

8.3. Sensitive detection of renal disease

specic populations
Table XIV lists examinations used to detect
renal disease in patient populations with highrisk for renal damage. The minimum and
optimum lists refer to economical possibilities
by different health care service providers.
Primary renal disease may present with
symptoms. Haematuria and albuminuria, sometimes even leukocyturia may be demonstrated
by sieve measurements; in addition, quantitative
total protein excretion (measured as a 24-h
excretion rate, or protein/creatinine ratio of
morning urine) is usually elevated. In tubular
disease, defect in urine concentrating capacity
may be demonstrated (measured by relative
density or osmolality). Albuminuria is a major
feature in most glomerular diseases. Monitoring
for side effects from clearly tubulotoxic drugs,
such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, many cytotoxic drugs and some non-steroidal anti-inammatory drugs is possible with measurements of
urinary a1-microglobulin, retinol-binding protein (RBP) and other markers (see Section
5.4.1).
Measurements of GFR are important in renal
disease. Urine creatinine measurement is also
needed for calculation of creatinine clearance.
Positive ndings from these investigations
should be followed by more specic diagnostic
procedures. In central hospitals, denitive

39

diagnosis is often based on renal imaging and

biopsy.
Secondary renal diseases are more common
than primary due to the high prevalence of
diabetes mellitus, hypertension and systemic
rheumatic diseases. For specied asymptomatic
patient populations, sensitive screening programmes should be established when improvement in life expectancy or cost containment is
anticipated. Currently, such a screening programme is established for incipient diabetic
nephropathy by sensitive measurements of
albuminuria. Renal involvement in hypertension should be screened at least by measurement of total protein excretion (24-h collection
or total protein/creatinine ratio) if sensitive
albuminuria measurements are beyond existing
resources. Renal disease secondary to multiple
myeloma may be detected by nding immunoglobulin light and occasional heavy chains in
urine in association with glomerular or tubular
proteinuria.
The role of urine particle morphology is to
conrm the presence of renal damage (casts,
renal tubular cells, dysmorphic red cells)
because non-renal proteinuria due to, e.g.,
fever, epileptic seizure or cardiac insufciency
is also frequent. Occasionally, renal elements
may occur in urine due to secondary damage
caused by abdominal or retroperitoneal (surgical or gynaecological) disease, or hypotension
due to cardiogenic shock. The analyses of both
urine proteins and formed elements complement
each other in detection and follow-up of renal
damage. The former are more sensitive but less
specic, while the latter are more specic but
less sensitive markers of renal damage.

TABLE XIV. Measurements for sensitive detection

of renal disease in urine.
Minimum measurements
Urine albumin (20 30 mg/L) and total protein
(quantitative, sensitivity 50 mg/L)
Urine microscopy
Optimum quantitative measurements additionally
Urine albumin (sensitivity 2 10 mg/L)
Urine a1-microglobulin (sensitivity 2 10 mg/L),
retinol-binding protein, or another tubular marker
protein
Urine creatinine
(or another reference quantity for volume rate)
Optional urinary proteins in special cases
Ig, k and l light chains, a2-macroglobulin
Other diagnostic examinations (based on clinical
presentation)

9 . Q U A L I T Y AS S U RA N C E
9.1. General principles
Urinalysis faces many challenges when its
quality is being dened formally. While traceability and description of uncertainties are well
established in clinical chemistry and haematology, these concepts are still premature to the
semi-quantitative or ordinal scale examinations
used in urinalysis. For morphological analysis,
systematic peer reviews are being used in
cytopathology to reach the highest possible
agreement between observers [232 234). In

40

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

microbiology, error in the identity or in a count

obtained from cultured colonies may be difcult
to set into an acceptable statistical framework.
Quality assurance practices must also encompass point-of-care testing [235 237]. Finally,
the increasing costs of health care tend to
challenge the acceptable minimum requirements
[238]. These guidelines are sensitive to such
pressures and are designed to propose practical
solutions.
Publications already exist at a general level
[239 241] and specically for quantitative
serum chemistry [242]. A Scandinavian group
has advised on assessment of analytical quality
specications from a theoretical point of view
[243]. In urinalysis, the healthy concentrations
or excretion rates of many substances or
particles are traditionally reported as ``negative'' rather than numerically. The performance
goals at detection limits must take into account
the large biological variations that occur at low
concentrations characteristic for the upper level
of the reference range in health.
Adherence to the international vocabulary of
metrological terms (VIM) is encouraged [126,
244 246], although this was not done thoroughly in these guidelines owing to their only
gradual acceptance in routine work. Substancebased SI units (e.g. mmol/L) should replace
conventional mass-based (e.g. mg/dl) units in
expressing results. The volume unit litre (L) has
been used throughout this document, including
bacterial colony counts (particle concentrations), as an example of this standardization.
The term accuracy now encompasses both
precision and trueness of measurements; and,
inversely, inaccurate measurements may be
erroneous because of systematic effects (bias)
or random effects (imprecision).
9.1.1. Quality systems. The concept and practice of Total Quality Management (TQM) is
now commonplace in many clinical laboratories. Laboratory practice can be divided into
three stages (pre-analytical, analytical and
post-analytical) all of which must be quality
assured in order to obtain reliable chemical
and microbiological results for patient care
[247].
The essential components of quality systems
may be created nationally with reference to
published national guidelines. Organization of
Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) should

address systematically all facets of laboratory

activity. Accreditation based on such international standards as EN45001 and ISO/IEC
Guide 25, or the later ISO17025, should be
considered for all facets of urinalysis as well.
These guidelines encourage local establishment
of quality systems even in small European
laboratories working under the supervision of
specialized laboratories. Quality systems need
regional co-operation and support.
9.1.2. Quality manual. General principles of
good laboratory practice apply to all clinical
laboratories. The quality system is described
in the quality manual of a laboratory. The
following contents were suggested by a
Scandinavian group [248]. As an example,
some specic views are reminded for microbiological investigations as performed in
general laboratories under the supervision and
support of a local microbiology laboratory.
9.1.2.1. Description and identity of laboratory
In most European countries, national governments have designated, by decree, certain
microbiology laboratories to investigate infections of epidemiological importance. National
regulations may also apply to other microbiological examinations, such as cultures from
urine.
9.1.2.2. Quality policy. (Modied from the
EN45001 suggestion for a policy statement)
``The aim of the laboratory is to provide
clinically useful information through laboratory
examinations of samples from patients, taking
into account the allocated resources. The
quality policy is implemented by the following
means:
Proper specimen collection, labelling and
transport
Reliable analytical work
Turnaround time within specied limits
Results reported in a clear format and
supplemented with relevant explanatory information (either together with the result or in a
separate laboratory handbook)
Appropriate communication is maintained
with clinical customers to ensure correct
integration of laboratory information into
evaluation of patients''.

European Urinalysis Guidelines

9.1.2.3. Staff and education. Training and certication of competence: The necessary educational requirements for certication of
specialist competence should be documented.
Training and certication should be carried
out in consultation with the microbiology
laboratory. Competence should be updated
regularly (e.g., yearly) and after long absences
(e.g., absences for longer than 6 12 months).
9.1.2.4. Management and quality assurance.
The documentation and procedures describing
the quality system in detail must only be
changed with the authority of the Head of the
laboratory or persons nominated to authorize
such changes. These documents must form a
laboratory manual (with separate appendices),
relevant sections of which are issued to staff.
When changes are made, all working copies
of the modied document must be updated.
The old copies must be stored (one archival
copy) or destroyed (at the working sites).
Continuous quality improvement is a result
of professional external and internal audits, in
addition to development of analytical techniques. Audits should be arranged on a regular
basis, e.g., once a year.
The laboratory manager must have access to
advisory documents issued by relevant bodies
including health notices, safety information
bulletins, health equipment information, health
building notes and health equipment notes.
9.1.2.5. Records, maintenance and archiving.
Final patient records and quality assurance
data should be archived according to national
or institutional regulations, typically 3 15
years, to allow later investigation for clinical,
epidemiological and, occasionally, for legal
purposes. Laboratories should also keep
records on their maintenance.
9.1.2.6. Facilities. Careful planning is needed
in siting a microbiology laboratory to ensure
stable environments (temperature, atmosphere,
humidity, etc.), minimum contamination risks
between specimens and safety of personnel.
Facilities must be available which are
designed to be safe for the processing and
containment of specic pathogens.
9.1.2.7. Equipment and material. In both
manual and automated laboratory work the

41

quality of equipment should be maintained

and its performance monitored daily. In urine
culture, this includes, e.g., incubators with
their required temperatures and atmospheres,
and culture plates.
9.1.2.8. Safety and environment. Regular handling of biologically hazardous material needs
special attention in routine procedures. The
details of safety management should be organized and explained.
The facility must comply with current safety
legislation.
9.1.2.9. Research and development. The quality
manual should state how a laboratory is
developing its routine programmes. Possible
participation in basic research should be
quoted as well.
9.1.2.10. Measurement procedures. Reference
materials and methods produced by manufacturers must be clearly described to allow audit
and traceability of measurements.
Detailed operating procedures for any investigation must be in place, as must instructions
for use of equipment.
Level of identication of uropathogenic
species must be discussed with the local
microbiology laboratory: a small laboratory
may decide to report only negative culture
results or to undertake a preliminary typing of
positive cultures in agreement with the supporting microbiology laboratory.
Reliable microbiological results are often
dependent on detailed adherence to specic
procedures. Procedures and interpretation
charts should be followed strictly. The medically responsible physician or other specialized
clinical microbiologist, who should be available,
must have approved these.
Both commercial kits and media developed in
the laboratory should be veried in a traceable
manner (standardized procedures and strains
obtained from international collections).
It is important that the number of examinations is large enough to maintain the level of
skill (approximate minimum is about 20 urine
cultures/week).
9.1.2.11. Request protocols, sample collection
and handling of laboratory samples. Instructions for the receipt and recording of specimens must be clear and unambiguous.

42

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

Detailed clinical information, including current antimicrobial treatment as well as the real
time and anatomical localization of the
obtained specimen (sample), is crucial for
interpretation of bacterial cultures. In urine
cultures, the collection procedure is of similar
importance (see Annex 10.1 for detail).
9.1.2.12. Verication of results. Data transfer
to individual patient records may be vulnerable
in manual work with plates. Procedures for
specimen identication, verication of results
and reporting on paper or by electronic data
processing systems should be explained.
9.1.2.13. Analytical control. A method must be
set in place for monitoring results, with the
ability to recognize those where failures have
arisen due to laboratory or human error.
External quality assessment (EQA): laboratories should participate in external quality
assessment programmes. The purpose of EQA
is to assess how well a laboratory fulls the
analytical quality specications of bacterial
culture (Section 9.5.2).
Current results of EQA must be displayed for
all to see if they wish and a le of all results for
the past few years must be held and available
for inspection.
Internal quality control (IQC) by recommended strains should conrm the daily
process.
IQC of even dipslide cultures should be
organized with the microbiology laboratory.
Organized submissions of sample cultures
(dipslides and plates) to the supporting microbiology laboratory for verication are also very
useful (see Section 9.5.2 and Annex 13 for
detail).
9.1.2.14. Report. The procedures for issuing
reports must be clear and unambiguous.
Delay in reporting results from bacterial
cultures should be avoided and must satisfy
the clinical need for treating the patient (see
Section 9.5.3).
Reasons for any delay in reporting results
beyond the agreed limits must be identied, as
must the likely clinical impact of such delay.
Corrective measures must then be applied.
9.1.2.15. Co-operation with the clinicians, ward
staff and patients. Laboratory handbooks

should explain detailed procedures for specimen collection and transport of microbiological investigations, including those for urine
collection. Interpretation of usual culture
results, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and
rapid microbiological methods should also be
included in the handbook.
Physicians with specialist competence in
clinical bacteriology should be available for
clinical consultation.
9.2. Test strips and equivalent rapid
examinations
9.2.1. Trueness of measurements. The ordinal
scale (semi-quantitative) measurements are
usually expressed as categorized data. Performance can be described as sensitivities and
specicities, i.e., as maximal allowable fractions of analytically false-positive (FP) or
false-negative (FN) measurements against best
practical comparison methods. Reference
methods, according to a strict denition, are
currently unavailable.
It is recommended that evaluation data be
classied within two limits obtained from the
comparison method: a detection limit (LD; from
the point where the ordinal scale method starts
to give positive results) and a conrmation limit
(LC; from the point where all ordinal scale
results should be positive). These delineate the
``grey zone''. From experience with test-strip
technology, it is recommended that the ratio
between the concentrations LC/LD~5 (see
Appendix, Annexes 11.1.2 and 11.1.3 for
detail). Optimal trueness of measurements is
suggested to be a FP rate v10% at LD and a
FN v5% at LC (compared with the most
accurate, closely related method) (Tables XXIII
& XXIV). In many situations, or with a less
optimal comparison method, a minimum performance is acceptable (see Appendix, Annex
11.1.1 for principles of measurements). With
many comparisons, such as in leukocyte and
erythrocyte detection, the different principles of
measurement (enzyme activity versus chamber
counting) must be understood for correct
interpretation. The same applies to comparisons
between bacterial culture and rapid chemical
examinations, such as the nitrite or similar
examinations.
For more than two ordinal scale categories,
agreement should be calculated using k statis-

European Urinalysis Guidelines

tics, thus subtracting random agreement from
observed data [249, 250] (see Appendix, Annex
11.1.4). The simple k coefcient is used when
there are only two or three classes. For multiple
(4 5) classes, the agreement should be calculated based on weighted k coefcients. In this
case the sum of expected disagreement exceeds
100% because of the squared weighting factors.
Thus, the goal must be tighter (Table XV). It is
possible to articially increase the k value by
subdividing the results into six or more classes,
but then the goal for a minimum performance
should be even higher (0.75 0.8). The quality
specications are based on common sense: any
clinical laboratory examination should classify
more than half of the non-random cases
correctly. Arbitrarily, this is equivalent to k
w0.6, although optimally the value should be
w0.8 if achievable.
9.2.2. Precision. Success in reproducing ordinal
scale measurements over time is expressed as
the fraction of correct results within binomial
condence intervals. It is recommended that
specimens with an original probability of close
to 100% for the measured category be used,
since the follow-up is then most precise due
to a narrow condence interval (see Appendix,
Annex 11.1.5.) As an option, despite the nal
ordinal scale output of patient results, a valid
continuous signal, e.g. a reectance value
obtained from the measuring device, can be
followed, allowing a normal calculation of
performance limits. The low positive range
(1z) is more important than the high positive
range (3z) in rapid examinations.
For good control, reproducibility (day-to-day
variation) should remain within the binomial
condence limits in internal quality control.
Stable control solutions are already available
for test-strip reading. Daily implementation
should then be the rule to allow judgements
on the levels of assays within a reasonable time
TABLE XV. Analytical quality
pressed as Kappa coefcients.

k coefcient
(simple) (2 3 classes)
k coefcient
(weighted) (4 5 classes)

specications

ex-

Optimum

Minimum

w0.8

w0.6

w0.9

w0.7

43

span. Dilutions of control solutions (with buffer

or pooled human negative urine) help in
following performance at concentrations in
the low positive range, where few stable control
solutions are available. However, since there is
a matrix problem in test-strip reading, stable
low positive control solutions would be better
than daily dilution of high positive control
solutions with aqueous buffers.
9.3 Quantitative chemical measurements
These guidelines acknowledge the efforts of
the IFCC in creating reference materials for
clinical chemistry [251]. For most urinary
constituents, genuine reference materials and
reference measurement procedures are awaited.
Co-operation between manufacturers in preparing calibrators for their quantitative technologies is greatly appreciated in achieving
comparable concentrations in clinical laboratory practice. Recommendations exist for analytical quality specications for routine
quantitative serum chemistry [242]. These
should be implemented in both internal quality
control [252] and external quality assessment
[253]. The formulae suggested to describe the
maximum allowable total analytical error for
serum chemistry are quoted in Table XVI. For
reference methods serving serum chemistry, a
maximum of half these errors is proposed [254].
For urine chemistry, these proposals should
be adjusted to reect the fact that changes in
pathological states may be in a logarithmic scale
compared to the low or almost negative
concentrations seen in health. Even if chemical
analytes are excreted in urine in large quantities,
they often occur in skewed distributions. Since
the same measurement is often used for both
monitoring and diagnostic testing, a combination of quality criteria should be considered.
9.3.1. Calibration of the measurements. Calibration of urinary total protein is preferably
performed using the CRM 470 (albumin)
standard (see Appendix, Annex 11.2.3). Glucose measurements can be calibrated with the
SRM909 material obtained from the National
Institute of Standards and Technology [255].
There is also a reference method for urine
glucose measurements approved by CDC/
FDA/AACC/NRSCL [256]. Calibration of

44

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE XVI. Analytical quality specications for

quantitative routine serum chemistry.
MONITORING (precision is important):
TEMonKsi, where TEMon~total error in monitoring, and si~within-subject biological standard
deviation
DIAGNOSTIC TESTING (trueness/total accuracy is
important):
TEDTJsc, where TEDT~total error in diagnostic
testing, and sc~d(si2zsg2)~composite biological
standard deviation; sg~between-subject biological
standard deviation

creatinine measurement can be performed

using the SRM914a serum calibrator from the
same source [257].
9.3.2. Analytical quality specications. Analytical quality specications for monitoring are
derived from within-subject biological variation of urine constituents. In the case of proteinuria, the average coefcient of variation of
one subject (Cvwithin-subject) is 40 50% at the
upper reference limit in health [258, 259]. For
creatinine, it is about 20% [109, 260], giving
an average CV for albumin/creatinine ratio of
about 40%, and maximally 80% [258]. This
within-subject variation results in an estimate
of maximally allowable imprecision 20
( 40)%. It would allow discrimination
between twofold and threefold changes in
excretion rates (analyte/creatinine ratios) in
multiple monitoring of the same patient, by
using the equation for critical difference
DC~a6CV, where a~2.77 at a statistical
probability pv0.05.
In discrimination between health and disease
(diagnostic testing), the average Cvbetween-subject
is about 25% for total protein, 75% for albumin
and about 25 30% for creatinine in 24-h
output [259, 260]. When calculated as ratio to
creatinine concentration in single-voided urine,
about 70% for total protein/creatinine and 40%
for albumin/creatinine ratio have been reported
[109]. The composite biological standard deviation (coefcient of variation) is then about 50
90% for proteinuria, depending on the analyte
and method of calculating the excretion rate.
The estimate of maximally allowable relative
deviation (bias) would be then 12 25%. The
validity of these gures must be judged against
the low level of physiological proteinuria

compared to the levels of clinical albuminuria

or proteinuria that are up to 100-fold (10,000%)
higher in nephrotic syndrome (albumin/creatinine ratio from 1 to 100 g/mol; total protein
from 0.1 up to 10 g/day).
Analytical performance should allow detection of microalbuminuria cases and monitoring
of diseases based on these gures. As an
approximation, the following performance specications are proposed for urine proteins
(Table XVII).
In addition to total protein, analytical quality
specications for maximum allowable imprecision and deviation (bias) have been calculated
and reported for calcium, creatinine, P-amylase,
phosphate, potassium, sodium, urate and urea
based on 24-h collections of urine [259].
9.4. Particle analysis
9.4.1 Statistical uncertainty. Counting at low
particle concentrations needs special attention
because of statistical uncertainty. Particle
counting follows the Poisson distribution
[261]:
s~dm; and
CVm(%)~100%/dm~100%/dT/n
~CVT(%)6dn, and
CVT~100%/dT~CVm/dn
where T~ total amount of counted cells and
n~number of counted unit volumes (traditionally squares in a chamber or high-power
elds under a coverslip); m~mean count~T/
n, s~standard deviation, CVm~coefcient of
variation of the mean count, CVT~coefcient of variation of the total count.
At low particle concentrations, imprecision of
the total count becomes critical: If only 1 mL is
counted at a concentration of 36106 particles/
L, the result has a theoretical CVT~60% with
ideal procedures. Five microlitres of the same
suspension gives CVT~26% and counting only
10 mL gives CVT~18%, permitting the calculation of an estimate for the mean value.
9.4.2 Suggested analytical quality specications.
Quantitative counting: Urine particle counting
may benet from comparison with the quality
specications described for haematological
analysers with their already proven clinical
accuracy [262]. In urinary tract infections, a

European Urinalysis Guidelines

45

TABLE XVII. Analytical specications for trueness (expressed as relative deviation) and reproducibility
(expressed as imprecision) in quantitative urine chemistry, with special reference to proteinuria.
Property

Performance level

Trueness, maximum deviation from the target value

Reproducibility, maximum imprecision CVday-to-day

10-fold difference (from 10 to 1006106 WBC/

L) exists between non-infected and infected
urines (see Section 6.2.3). Variation in daily
volume rate (diuresis) also affects particle concentrations easily by a factor of 2 (100%).
For trueness, an optimum performance
should have a relative deviation (bias) v30%.
This is important in particular for evaluation
purposes. A minimum performance with a
relative deviation v50 100% can be accepted
for most routine applications, and in particular
at particle concentrations below 36106/L urine.
To achieve these gures, one has to count
several microlitres of urine from each sample.
In the future, these specications may be
replaced by more accurate calculations.
The volumes of counting chambers or other
similar devices should have an error v10% to
be negligible. The manufacturer should specify
the volume accuracy for the device.
Routine sediment examination (ordinal scale
specications): The generally used standardized
sediment technique essentially provides ordinal
scale analysis of urine particles. This can be
controlled against counts of uncentrifuged
urine within a chamber or by an instrument.
In practice, delays in investigation after
micturition, losses during centrifugation, suction of supernatant and inadequate review of
the full coverslip area appear to contribute
most to inaccuracy of results, despite a
standardized procedure. Awareness of the
many possibilities for systematic error helps
in designing the most accurate procedure for
routine sediment analysis. Categorized performance criteria are tentatively suggested below
as an experienced opinion (Table XVIII) that
can be replaced by more accurate specications
in the future.
Identication of clinically signicant urine
particles should be internally reviewed (peer
review by staff members) and externally eval-

Optimum

Minimum

10%
20%

25%
50%

uated (EQA schemes). Each site should document its personnel training.
9.5. Microbiology examinations
9.5.1. Good microbiological laboratory practice.
Good Laboratory Practice should be implemented in all clinical laboratories, including
chemistry, microbiology and general laboratories. Currently, this is often described in a
local quality manual. Some details of such a
quality manual were suggested in Section 9.1.2
using an example of microbiological investigations as performed in general laboratories
under the supervision of a local microbiology
laboratory.
9.5.2. Analytical quality specications for bacterial culture. These specications relate to the
microbiological analysis of urine in a Level 2
facility. The performance at Level 1 may
require further adjustments, e.g., at points-ofcare (see Section 7.3 for specications at this
level). The given specications do not necessarily full the requirements for the Level 3
specications (designed as benchmarks for
comparative trials and quality control). Variation of exact techniques and technology is
permissible and indeed necessary at Level 2,
TABLE XVIII. Maximum allowable false-negative
rates in urine microscopy.
Particle
type
RBC
WBC
Bacteria
Casts

Particle
concentration
(6106/L)

Maximum allowable
false-negative
rates (%)

10
100
20
200
10
100
10
50

20
5
10
5
20
5
10
5

46

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

because of cost and work-ow restrictions, the

rapid performance of emerging technology
and individual patient case-mix.
9.5.2.1. Acceptable false-negative rates for
detection by routine culture. Maximum allowable false-negative rates are suggested for
detection and identication of established primary, secondary and doubtful pathogens,
either in pure culture or as part of a mixture,
as dened by organisms in the common, fairly
common and uncommon groups (as dened in
Table IX) in Table XIX. These are based on
expert opinion.
9.5.2.2. Acceptable routine level of identication. Laboratories working at Level 2 should
be able to isolate by culture from clinical
samples urine organisms at any concentration above those set out in Table XIII, and to
identify the species to the given minimum
level (Fig. 4).
This is not an exhaustive list of organisms
recognized as causing urinary tract infection.
Instead, this level of identication of species is
based on a combination of the prevalence and
pathological signicance of their isolation, as well
as the relation between the organism group and
both antibacterial sensitivity and possible resistance acquisition. The list is therefore driven by
clinical relevance rather than by microbiological

FIG. 4.

TABLE XIX. Maximum allowable

culture results of uropathogens.
Colony concentration
108/L or more
107 108/L
104 107/L

false-negative
Allowable false
negative rate
2%
5%
10%

identication for its own sake. It also represents

that which is practically achievable, rather than a
``wish list'' which would require more resources
and time. Individual laboratories must decide
whether their particular case-mix requires additional investigation beyond the suggested level.
As an example, isolation of yeast from urine is
more relevant in large centres with signicant
transplantation, intensive care and immunosuppressed patient activity; the division into
albicans and non-albicans species relates to
predicted sensitivity to certain antifungal
agents. Finally, there is a wide choice of agar
media that can be used for isolating these
organisms. A reduction in the number of media
routinely used for urines (such as CLED only)
may be acceptable. Suggestions for readily
performable examinations to achieve such identication are given in Appendix, Annex 13.4.
Many other methods may be equally appropriate
and can be found in microbiology textbooks.

Minimum level of bacterial identication in clinical urine specimens.

European Urinalysis Guidelines

9.5.3. Acceptable turnaround times from specimen receipt. The requirement for Level 2
relates to the importance of speed in terms of
overall cost of patient treatment episodes. It
should be viewed in the context of complicated and potentially serious urinary tract
infections.
The following time limits are suggested for
relevant uropathogens following receipt of the
specimen (Table XX). These time limits must
incorporate a laboratory information system
that allows the clinician easy access to the
result, either by telephone or, preferably, by
computer interface. The higher minimum percentage required reects the clinical priority of
antibiotic sensitivity over organism identication. It is more important to ensure correct
choice of antimicrobial agent than it is to know
the name of the organism responsible for
infection.
9.5.4. Microscopy in the microbiology laboratory. All laboratories wishing to operate at
Level 2 must have facilities for microscopy. It
is recognized that microscopy is labour-intensive and signicantly impacts on overall cost.
Results from particle analysis (visual or automated) and test-strip examination by general
or chemical laboratories or at point-of-care
units may partially replace the need for
microscopy in the microbiology laboratory.
However, these results should only be used
to assist in the microbiological evaluation of
cultures. Only experienced evaluators, usually
in microbiology laboratories, however, should
perform Gram staining. For detailed quality
specications of microscopy, see Section 9.4.
9.6. Urinalysis device performance evaluation
Improvements in laboratory technology are
welcome and lead to better control of disease.
TABLE XX. Acceptable turnaround times in bacterial culture.
Identication to Level 2
in pure culture
Identication to Level 2
in mixed culture
Available antibiotic sensitivity
of relevant organism

90% within 24 h
90% within 48 h
98% within 48 h

47

Point-of-care units and small laboratories

are encouraged to consult with colleagues in
the larger laboratories before proceeding with
the evaluation of new instruments. Earlier
European recommendations exist for procedures in instrument evaluation [263]. When
replacing existing techniques with new systems at least the following issues must be
considered.
Analytical performance.
Evaluation versus established reference or best
comparison methods
Calibration and traceability of devices
Level of identication (particles, microbes),
intended clinical use
A statistically signicant sample of patients
and healthy reference individuals
A detailed, pre-planned protocol
Analytical sensitivity and specicity of results
(false-positive and false-negative rates and predictive values at different prevalences)
Reliability of quantitation if applicable~
linearity of measurement.
Practical performance.
Ease of use and robustness
Ability to self-check and recognize and/or
diagnose faulty performance
Instrument throughput
Ease of interfacing with laboratory computers.
Clinical and economic impact.
Cost/benet assessment including all costs
(reagents, manpower, running and maintenance and indirect costs)
Impact on patient care (if medical decisionmaking is altered, impact on outcomes).
Regulations. Any medical device intended for
in vitro diagnostics should be compatible with
the European directive for such devices [32].
Generally, a minimum sensitivity of 80 90%,
depending on the patient population and application, is considered adequate, while a specicity
of 90 95% should be maintained in diagnostic
reports. When the instrument or examination is
used for screening (exclusion of disease), a
sensitivity of 95% with a specicity of at least
90% should be the aims when trying to reduce the
total cost of conrmatory examinations.

48

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

APPENDIX (DETAIL OF
MEASUREMENTS AND PROCEDURES)
ANNEX 10. TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION AND DETAIL OF PRE- AND
POST-ANALYTICAL STAGE
10.1. Essential information in requests and
reports
10.1.1. Specimen identication and patient data.
The following boxes structure clinical background information for laboratory processes.
10.1.2. Requesting urinalysis examinations, sieving principle. Stepwise strategies (Section 8)
should be translated into practical requesting
routines. Considerable savings result if a sieve
principle is applied for manual work, e.g. visual
microscopy is performed for specimens positive
with a sieving examination (usually dened
elds of a multiple strip or an automated particle count) only. In selected cases, however,
sensitive protein measurements and even visual
microscopy should be requested independently
of sieving examinations to detect the presence
of renal damage. Detailed requests help focus
laboratory activities correctly.
Bacterial culture should mostly be requested
independently of results from a rapid examination (multiple strip or automated counter) for
symptomatic high-risk patients to avoid falsenegative cases (this principle may change with
improved sensitivity of sieving examinations
within a laboratory process). For low-risk
symptomatic patients (females with symptoms
Patient identication
Last name, rst name
Personal ID code (recommended if available)
Date of birth (if not included in the personal ID
code)
Requesting unit (where patient is being treated)
Return address (to whom report should be sent)
Responsible physician/nurse (to be contacted if
consultation is needed)
Concurrent antimicrobial therapy (bacterial
culture requested)
Additional clinical information (signs, symptoms,
tentative diagnosis).
If no information is given, a minimum level
of investigation should be applied as agreed
locally on the basis of patient populations
served.

Specimen details
Specimen identication (ID) code (barcode, if
used)
Date and time of voiding (nal real time)
Collection method (mid-stream urine, single
catheter urine, indwelling catheter urine,
suprapubic aspiration of urine, bag specimen of
urine; other)
Success in patient preparation and collection
(coded):
qualied specimen or defective collection
(such as untimed collection, urgency, difculties
in technique, etc.; classied by health care
personnel when known)
Results from rapid examinations (if performed
at point-of-care; such as test strip)

of repeated lower urinary tract infection and no

background risk factor), a positive rapid
examination may be sufcient to indicate
antimicrobial treatment without a need for
culture. Patients with no clear-cut urinary tract
symptoms (medically justied screening or
exclusion of urinary tract infection) may also
be able to collect standardized morning urine,
from which a rapid examination is able to
exclude the presence of bacteriuria at 108 CFB/
L level with a sensitivity of 80 90%.
The box below should be part of a request to
communicate the need for additional procedures if the sieving examination(s) is (are)
performed in the laboratory. The preferred
approach depends on the condition of each
patient or patient group.

Conditional request for visual microscopy ...

Detection of albumin/protein, leukocytes or
erythrocytes should be followed by visual
microscopy
Conditional request for bacterial culture ...
Detection of leukocytes or bacteria by a rapid
examination should be followed by a bacterial
culture (treatment of possible bacteriuria is
anticipated)
No additional examinations with positive results ...
(Mark if applicable; may be used if the rapid
examination is sufcient for a clinical decision,
such as in low-risk urinary tract infection or
acute cases)

European Urinalysis Guidelines

10.1.3. Reports. Reporting results from ordinal
scale examinations. Report format: Date, time,
technique/instrument and operator ID should
be traceable.
Test strip results: In order that the clinician is
aware of the uncertainty of the measurement,
ordinal scale reporting is recommended (negative, 1z, 2z or 3z).
It is recommended that the range of arbitrary
concentrations corresponding to the assigned
categories is always made available for the
clinical interpreter either with the report or,
more practically, in the laboratory handbook.
A range is more informative than a single
arbitrary concentration, e.g., for protein 1z
(0.2 1.0 g/L) is preferred over 1z(0.3 g/L). To
avoid continual confusion, it would be of great
help if all manufacturers were to adopt the same
arbitrary categories for rapid examinations of
the same type. As a minimum, specied
analytical sensitivity limits for positivity
should be identical.
Reporting results from particle analysis. The
method should be stated in the report or in
the laboratory handbook (standardized sediment; standardized chamber counting; automated analysis).
Morphological detail should be reported at a
basic or advanced level (see Section 6.1). Units
and quantities must be dened: particle counts/
high power eld (HPF, 6400 usually) are used
for sediments examined under coverslips; counting chambers have dened volumes (e.g. 1 mL).
Even with HPF units, a calculation of particles/
litre (L) of original urine must be provided for
the clinician. Recommended unit for publications is particles/L.
Particle counts should be given as averages
per unit volume (HPF or L), not as ranges seen
in different viewelds. Only micro-organisms
and clumps of cells are uncountable by visual
methods and may be reported in ordinal scale
from ``negative'' to ``3z''.

49

particles, CFB/L). The species or genera

grown (depending on the methods of identication). Antimicrobial susceptibility results as
locally agreed.
The bacterial culture report or laboratory
handbook should state the method of culture,
since the level of precision varies accordingly
(from dipslide to accurate cultures with 1
100 mL inocula; grown for 24 48 h).
10.2. Role of computers in transmission of
information
The need for increased efciency goes in
parallel with automation and computerized data
transmission. Specic needs of urinalysis usually
create additional work to satisfy the transmission of medically relevant information. Details
of requests and reports are compiled in Section
10.1. In addition, the following issues should be
considered.
Standardization. National coding of laboratory
examinations is highly recommended. Additional codes are needed to Supplement urinalysis requests (Section 10.1). Morphological
and microbiological reports need special
coding, but also space for free-form reporting (occasional written notes on individual
results). Units of quantities and formats of
reports must be standardized.
Request specications. Conditional requests
(Section 10.1.2) and selections of correct procedures (such as shown in Table XIII for different options for bacterial culture) need
decision rules in the on-line programmes when
computerized; rapid results must be transmitted to other working sites to organize
work-lists for microscopy or bacterial culture.
Algorithms applied in these decisions may be
simplied from the given guidelines as agreed
locally.

Reporting microbiological results Gram staining

Oil immersion eld (OIF) is used for Gram
staining. The report may be formatted in
ordinal scale from ``negative'' to ``3z'' if
quantities are used.

Evaluation and reporting. Serial work-ow

should be easy and accessible when working
with microscopes or reading culture plates.
Computer-assisted interpretation and graphic
display of daily results are encouraged where
possible.

Bacterial cultures. Quantity of growth (recommended unit for particles: 10x colony-forming

Internal quality control (IQC). Internal quality

control data should be accessible for responsi-

50

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

ble operators in both individual and cumulative form; this means collection of separate
les. IQC data are expected to be stored for
long periods (up to 15 years) in most quality
systems.

means of understanding by individuals unfamiliar with the native language (illustrations

enclosed). Professional ``hands on'' assistance
is often needed for small children and elderly
people.

Connection to laboratory and hospital information systems. A computerized urinalysis laboratory should have a standardized interface with
the general laboratory information system and
hospital administrative system, including
patients' medical records. Medical information
on patients will be increasingly available with
electronic patient records. Access to crucial
parts of this information should be permitted
based on laboratory user ID and patient IDs
of investigated samples, as agreed locally.

10.3.1. Collection of mid-stream urine specimen

(patient instructions)
Females: Wash your hands with soap and
water or a towelette. Dry-wipe them. Have
the clean collection container beside you.
Avoid touching the inside with your ngers.
While sitting on the toilet, wash your outer
genital organs, including the opening where
the urine comes out, with a hand shower or
with lukewarm water and wet paper towels
(or a sterile towelette) without using any disinfectants. Dry-wipe. When urinating, let the
rst portion pass into the toilet (bedpan). Collect the mid-portion in the container. Allow
any excess urine to pass again into the toilet.
After urination, dry-wipe the outer surface of
the container, secure the lid or transfer the urine to
the tube(s) provided, and write or check your
name and the date and time when you produced
the specimen on the label on the container. Then
proceed as advised locally. If any problems occur,
please consult the clinical attendant (see illustrations 1a and 2a, pages 91 and 93).
Males: Wash your hands with soap and water
or a towelette. Dry-wipe them. Have the clean
collection container beside you. Avoid touching
the inside with your ngers. Uncover the
urethral opening by withdrawing the foreskin
if necessary. Wash the end of your penis,
including the opening where the urine comes
out, with a hand shower or with lukewarm
water and paper towels (or sterile towelette)
without using any disinfectants. Dry-wipe.
When urinating (either standing or sitting), let
the rst portion pass into the toilet (bedpan).
Collect the mid-portion in the container. Allow
any excess urine to pass again into the toilet.
After urination, dry-wipe the outer surface of
the container, secure the lid or transfer the urine
to the tube(s) provided, and write or check your
name and the date and time when you produced
the specimen on the container label, then
proceed as advised locally. If any problems
occur, please consult the clinical attendant (see
illustrations 1b and 2b, pages 92 and 94).
Children (capable of controlled micturition):
After appropriate explanation, reasonably ade-

Orientation towards a real time process. It is

not possible to know the precise time or success of qualied urine collection in advance;
sometimes even the method of collection may
change. Thus, the possible preliminary computerized request must be completed after
obtaining the specimen for such postcollection detail.
Computer transmissions should have a negligible effect on turnaround times of emergency
reports. Comparison with an earlier result of
the same patient should be possible.
Safety of data: Back-up procedures must be
organized to allow replacement when erroneous
transmissions occur or les become corrupted in
repeated use.
Quality control data should be easily accessible for the reviewer of patients' results.
10.3. Collection of urine specimens
Nurses or laboratory personnel usually
instruct patients how to obtain an adequate
urine specimen. Health care personnel must rst
understand the minimum requirements of
standardized specimen collection. Since the
compliance of the patient or his/her parents is
usually needed to obtain an adequate specimen,
both oral and written guidance, often with
illustrations, is necessary. Each institution is
encouraged to modify the text given below to
make their local practice as efcient as possible.
Pictures showing the basic procedures for
females, males and children should be used
and can be freely copied; these may be the only

European Urinalysis Guidelines

quate mid-stream specimens can be collected
from children old enough to sit on a potty
chair. This can be achieved by placing the
collection container in the potty chair (see
illustration 3, page 95). Older children may
follow the same advice as given to adults.
After producing the sample, dry-wipe the
outer surface of the container, secure the lid or
transfer the urine to the tube(s) provided, and
write or check the child's name and the date
and time when the specimen was produced on
the container label, then proceed as advised
locally. If any problems occur, please consult
the clinical attendant.
10.3.2. Collection of sequential urine specimens
for diagnosis of chronic bacterial prostatitis and
related disorders (Meares and Stamey procedure). For diagnosis of prostatitis, sequential collection of rst and middle portions of
a single-voided specimen is of diagnostic
value, as well as drops expressed with prostate
massage and urine after prostatic massage
[27]. The results are better if the patient has
not ejaculated at least for 3 days before the
collection of specimen. The given instructions
are to be followed with the assistance of the
physician performing the examination.
Patient instructions
1. Half an hour before specimen collection,
drink 400 mL of water (or juice). The
examination starts when you want to
void.
2. Label four sterile collection vessels (A D)
and remove the closures from them. Avoid
touching the inside of the vessels or closures.
3. Wash your hands with soap and water or a
towelette. Dry-wipe them.
4. Take the clean collection container with you.
Uncover the urethral opening by withdrawing the foreskin. Wash the end of your penis,
including the opening where the urine comes
out, with a hand shower or with lukewarm
water and paper towels (or sterile towelette)
without using any disinfectants. Dry-wipe.
5. Urinate 10 15 mL into the rst container
(A) in a standing position.
6. Urinate 100 200 mL into the toilet
(bedpan). Without interrupting the stream,
urinate 10 15 mL into the second container
(B). Allow any excess urine to pass again
into the toilet.

51

7. Bend forward and hold the sterile specimen

container (C) to catch the prostate secretion
while the physician massages the prostate.
Several drops are needed.
8. If no secretion is visible during massage, the
physician collects a specimen with a 10 mL
loop from urethral orice for direct culture.
9. After prostatic massage, try to urinate an
additional 10 15 mL into the container (D).
The containers A D should be sent for
bacterial culture. If possible, particle analysis
is also of diagnostic value after inoculation of
the plates.
10.3.3. Collection of suprapubic aspiration specimen. From infants and toddlers able to control their urination, a container inserted into a
potty chair helps get a mid-stream specimen
(see illustration 3, page 95). If not, suprapubic
aspiration (or catheter specimen) should be
attempted when the diagnosis or exclusion of
urinary tract infection is crucial and a bag
specimen does not work (see illustration 4,
page 96).
10.3.4. Timed collection of urine. A 24-h urine
sample is the most common example of a
timed collection. Patient instructions must be
provided. Different preservatives to be used in
timed collections are listed in Table XXI. The
table was compiled for analytes requested
from outpatients. Based on preservatives listed
in the NCCLS Urinalysis Guidelines [3], new
analytes have been added. Moreover, technical
development in measurements and changes in
the body uid have been taken into account
(serum measurements replacing urine assays),
as well as European experience in preservation
of the analytes [39, 264].
Patient instructions: 24-h collection of urine. As
part of your medical examination you have
been asked to collect a timed urine sample
because the doctor wants to know the exact
amount of (the examined substance) excreted
into your urine. You have been asked to collect for a 24-h period. If you are not in hospital, select a day when you expect to be able
use the toilet where you keep the collection
container throughout the continuous collection
period. READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS
CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU START THE
COLLECTION.

52

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE XXI. Preservatives for single and timed urine collections (maximum documented stable time is
expressed, when known, with the following abbreviations: h~hours, d~days, w~weeks, mo~months,
y~years). The table assumes non-infected urine (bacteriuria may dramatically affect the preservation of some
analytes). Usually, about 1% nal concentration is used.
Measurand

Room Refrigerated
temp
(4 6C)
(20C)

Frozen
- 20C

Albumin

7d

1 mo

6 mo*

Alpha-1 microglobulin
(Protein HC)
Alpha-2 macroglobulin
Aluminium
Amino acids
5-Aminolevulinate,
(or delta-)
Bacteria

7d

1 mo

6 mo*

7d
3d

7d
7d

1d

4d

No

1d

Calcium
Catecholamines
Chloride
Citrate
Collagen type I,
N-terminal telopeptide
Cortisol
Creatinine
Cystine
Glucose
Glycosaminoglycans
Homovanillic acid
Human chorionic
gonadotropin
(pregnancy
examination)
Hydroxyproline
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic
acid
Immunoxation and
electrophoresis
of urine proteins
Immunoglobulins
(intact), quantitative
Immunoglobulin,
kappa and lambda
light chains
Iron
Lead
Lysergic acid
diethylamide
Magnesium
Metanephrines
Multiple strip

2d
4d

4d
4d

Myoglobin
N-acetyl-betaglucosaminidase
Oligosaccharides
Osmolality
Oxalate

1y
z
1 mo

v2 h

5d
3 mo*
2h
z
z
z

Boric
Acid

Na2CO3 Notes

*Depends on the
procedure
*Depends on the
procedure
Special container

z
No

z
1 2 d*

3w
20 d
4 w*
z

2d

HCl
6 mol/L

z
6 mo
1 y*
8h

z
z
No
1 d*

7 d*

z
z

2h

2 d*

2 d*

7d

1 mo

6 mo

7d

1 mo

No*

7d

1 mo

6 mo

3d

7d

Years

1m

1m

2m

3d

3d

1y

4 h*/1 d

No

12 d*
1d

12 d*
7d

w12 d*
1m

3h

z
7d

3 mo
4 mo*

No

A
*Combined
preservatives also
available

* if pHv1.7

* add HCl
Azide

z
z

*add acid

*cryoproteins may not

redissolve

*z

*Erythrocyte and
leukocyte detection
most sensitive
*at pHw7

E, *if acidied

European Urinalysis Guidelines

53

TABLE XXI. (continued )

Measurand

Room Refrigerated Frozen

temp
(4 6C)
- 20C
(20C)

Particles except bacteria 1 2 h

(sediment)
Phosphate (inorganic)
Porphyrins
Potassium
Protein, total
Pyridinium crosslinks
(of collagen)
Relative volumic mass
(relative density,
old: specic gravity)
Sodium
Steroid proling
Test strip, see Multiple
strip
Tetrahydrocannabinol9-carboxylic acid
Urea
Urate
Urobilinogen
Vanillylmandelic acid

4 d*
2 mo
1d

18 h

No

7 d*
2 mo
7d

1 mo*
1y
1 mo

6w

HCl
Boric Na2CO3
6 mol/L Acid

Notes

No

pH v 7 and Osmol
w300 mOsm/kgH20
favourable
*if acidied
* at pH 6-7, S

2 d*

z
z

Depends on
the procedure
Depends on
the procedure

10 y
z

45 d

45 d
z

1y
z

10 w

1y

1y

2d
4 d*

7d

1 mo

7 d*

years*

No
7 d*

z
No

Albumin
stabilizes
z

*pHw8
S
*at pH 3 5

A~acetic acid is not obligatory, E~EDTA addition in laboratory is helpful, L~lead-free container,
S~protect from sunlight; No~not recommended. *~explained in Notes for each line.

Your collection may need preservatives for

reliable analysis. Your local advisor will tell you
how to deal with these. Preservatives are usually
added to the collection container before the
start or immediately after the rst voided
portion.
Write down the date and time when you start
the collection (you can choose when to start).
Empty your bladder and discard that sample.
All voided urine after this start is to be
collected in the container.
Exactly 24 hours after starting the collection,
empty your bladder and add this to the
collection container. Close the container tightly,
dry-wipe and place the label provided on the
container. Write or check the details of your
collection times and your personal identication
data. Store and transport the container to the
laboratory as advised.
If only a portion of the 24-hour specimen was
requested, mix the complete collection thoroughly before pouring a small sample into the
small container you have been given. Dry-wipe
the small container and place the label provided

on to it. Check or write your name, personal

identication number and detailed collection
date and times on the label.
If any questions arise, please contact your
clinical attendant.
ANNEX 11. DETAIL OF
C H E M I S T R Y EX A M I N A T I O N S
11.1. Detail of multiple test strips
11.1.1. Analytical principles. See Table XXII.
11.1.2. Calculation of trueness in ordinal scale:
grey zone. The trueness of ordinal scale measurements is expressed by dening detection
limits (LD) and conrmation limits (LC) from
comparison measurements. They delineate a
grey zone. Below the detection limit, a strip
examination should remain negative, while
above the conrmation limit, it should be
positive. At the grey zone, a gradual transition from negative to positive results should
occur. The ratio between concentrations LC/
LD is recommended to be ~5.

54

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE XXII. Detection principles and their limitations for multiple strips (modied from references 14 and
15).
Measurand

Measurement principle

False-negative results

False-positive results

Leukocytes
(WBC)

Indoxyl esterase activity

(granulocytes and
macrophages; not present
in lymphocytes)

Vitamin C (intake
grams/day), proteinw5 g/L,
glucosew20 g/L, mucous
specimen, cephalosporins,
nitrofurantoin; mercuric
salts, trypsin inhibitor,
oxalate, 1% boric acid

Oxidizing detergents,
formaldehyde
(0.4 g/L), sodium
azide, coloured
urine (beet ingestion,
bilirubinuria)

Bacteria (nitrate
reductase positive)*

Nitrite detected with

Griess's test (azo dye)

No vegetables in diet, short

bladder incubation time,
vitamin C, Gram-positive bacteria

Coloured urine,
in vitro growth

Erythrocytes (RBC)

Pseudoperoxidase activity
by the haem moiety of
haemoglobin

High nitrite concentration,

delayed examination, high
density of urine,
formaldehyde (0.5 g/L)

Microbial peroxidases,
oxidizing detergents,
hydrochloric acid

Albumin (protein)

Non-specic binding to
indicator dye

Globulins, immunoglobulin
light chains hardly detected;
coloured urine

Alkaline urine
(pH 9), quaternary
ammonium detergents,
chlorhexidine,
polyvinylpyrrolidone
(blood substitute)

Glucose

Glucose oxidase and

peroxidase

Vitamin C, urinary tract

infection

Oxidizing detergents,
hydrochloric acid

Ketone bodies
(acetoacetate;
acetone)

Nitroprusside reaction
(Legal's test)

Improper storage,
beta-hydroxybutyrate not
detected

Free sulphhydryl
groups (e.g. captopril),
coloured urines,
L-dopa

pH

Two indicator dyes

giving a pH range
between 5 and 9

Formaldehyde lowers pH

Relative volumic
mass (relative
density; specic
gravity)

Ionic solutes of urine

react with poly-electrolytes
on the strip

Falsely low: glucose, urea,

alkaline urine

Falsely high:
proteinw1 g/L,
ketoacids

Creatinine

Oxidative reaction with

copper complex

EDTA

Haemoglobin or
myoglobin above
50 mg/L

Urobilinogen

Azo reaction with a

diazonium salt; Ehrlich's
aldehyde reaction

Formaldehyde (2 g/L),
exposure to light

Sulphonamide and
other drugs,
coloured urine;
porphobilinogen
(Ehrlich)

Bilirubin

Azo reaction with a

diazonium salt

Vitamin C, high nitrite

concentration, exposure
to light

Coloured urine,
chlorpromazine
metabolites

Ascorbic acid

Reduction reaction
with an indole dye

Not known

Similar reducing
agents

*Bacteria are detected on the basis of nitrate reductase present in most Gram-negative uropathogenic rods,
such as E. coli (Griess's test). Nitrate reductase is lacking from some common uropathogens, i.e. Gram-positive
bacteria, such as Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Enterococcus spp.

European Urinalysis Guidelines

Example: Leukocyte detection by esterase
activity. Acute urinary tract infections are
associated with urinary leukocyte counts
100 200 WBC6106/L, while at the level of
v10 WBC6106/L no association exists [180,
265]. What is the performance of a test-strip
leukocyte esterase method detecting pyuria?
Test-strip results are compared with chamber
counts of WBC from freshly voided (v2 h)
urines with the following (imaginary) data
(Table XXIII):
The following fractions describe the trueness of
measurements:
1. The fraction of false positives at the detection limit (LD)~FPD~b/(azb) (in the
example: 80/280~0.29 or 29%).
2. The fraction of false negatives at the grey
zone area ~FNG~c/(czd) (in the example:
25/125~0.20 or 20%).
3. The fraction of false negatives at the
conrmation limit (LC)~FNC~e/(ezf) (in
the example: 5/45~0.11 or 11%).
Quality specications for trueness:
If not otherwise clinically justied, the
trueness of a test-strip eld may be judged as
shown in Table XXIV (when used for an
average patient population)
In this example, a theoretical strip eld has a
poor performance in FPD, but an optimum
performance at FNG and a minimum performance of FNC (random variation, but also
possible problems with lysis of leukocytes on
the reagent pad, etc.). In this case, the ``too
high'' sensitivity may, however, not be true, but
reect delayed counting and disruption of

55

leukocytes in diluted urines, in addition to

random variation of the measurement.
11.1.3. Detection and conrmation limits for
different test-strip elds. The following detection limits (LD) and conrmation limits (LC)
are proposed for general test strips
(Table XXV). They are created by multiplying
the approximate healthy upper reference limits
of concentrations in morning urine by a
factor of 2, to avoid false-positive results due
to intra-individual (biological) variation.
To allow sensitive detection of albuminuria
(microalbuminuria range), the following quality
specications are given to sensitive rapid
albumin measurements (Table XXVI). Albumin
concentrations (mg/L) are not expressed in
substance-based units (mol/L) to be comparable
with total protein concentrations, such as in
Table XXV.
11.1.4. Concordance analysis (k coefcient).
k coefcients [249] should be calculated when
comparing agreement between two or more
ordinal scale categories, such as test-strip
results obtained with two different measurement procedures, or when comparing agreement with four or more ordinal scale results
to those measured with a quantitative comparison method (procedure).
The principle is to subtract agreement
expected by chance alone. If formal signicance
testing is needed, the p value from McNemar's
test can be presented. Principles of the calculations of simple and weighted coefcients have

TABLE XXIII. Example data for estimation of trueness of test strip examinations.
Comparison method (WBC 6 106/L)
Test strip result
Negative
Positive (1z or more)
TOTAL

Negativev20

Grey zone 20 99

Positive100

Total

200 (a)
80 (b)
280

25 (c)
100 (d)
125

5 (e)
40 (f)
45

230
220
450

Limits:

LD

LC

TABLE XXIV. Analytical quality specications for trueness of test strip examinations.
Performance
Optimum
Minimum

FPD~b/(azb)

FNG~c/(czd)

FNC~e/(ezf)

v10%
v20%

v30%
v50%

v5%
v10%

56

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE XXV. Suggested detection and conrmation limits for multiple test strips.
Property

Comparison method

Detection
limit (LD)

Conrmation limit
(LC)

Leukocytes (6106/L)
Erythrocytes (6106/L)
Albumin (protein) (g/L)

Chamber countinga
Chamber countinga
Immunochemical
(or dye binding for total protein)
Weighing out dry sodium nitrite;
applicable comparison method
Quantitative method (glucose
dehydrogenase or hexokinase method)
Weighing out Li acetoacetate
pH meter (potentiometry)
Refractometry
Enzymatic; (kinetic Jaffe no more
recommended)
Not commonly available
Bilirubin solution

20
10
0.1 (alb),
0.2 (prot)
0.5

100
50
0.5 (alb),
1 (prot)
2.5

15

1
1 unitb
0.005b
4d

5
N/Ab
N/Ab
N/Ab

20c
10

100c
50

Nitrite (mg/L)
Glucose (mmol/L)
Ketones (acetoacetate; mmol/L)
pH
Relative volumic mass
Creatinine (mmol/L)
Urobilinogen (mmol/L)
Bilirubin (mmol/L)
a
b
c
d

Microscopic chamber counting of fresh (less than 2 h) uncentrifuged specimens.

N/A~detection and conrmation limits not applicable; an arbitrary class width is given.
Commonly available comparison methods are lacking. Manufacturers should document their evaluation.
Manufacturer reports an arbitrary scale of 0.9, 4.4, 8.8, 17.7 and 26.5 mmol/L.

TABLE XXVI. Analytical quality specications suggested for sensitive albumin (rapid) examinations.
Property
Albumin (sensitive; mg/L)
Albumin (sensitive):
Creatinine ratio (g/mol)

Comparison method

Detection limit (LD)

Conrmation limit (LC)

Immunochemical
Immunochemical, ratio to
quantitative creatinine method

10
3

50
15

been published earlier [250]. A more detailed

explanation is given elsewhere [266].
k~(P(o)2P(e))/(12P(e))
~12(Q(o)/Q(e))
where P(o)~observed probability of agreement, P(e)~expected probability of agreement
by
chance;
Q(o)~observed
disagreement~1 P(o) and Q(e)~expected
disagreement by chance~1 P(e).
In a 262 table, a sensitivity of 90% and
specicity of 90% against the comparison
method result in a k~0.8. k~0.8 means that
the non-random agreement~P(o) P(e) was
obtained with the examined method in 80% out
of all expected disagreement by chance~
Q(e)~1 P(e).
A sensitivity of 80% and specicity of 80%
result in k~0.6. A zero value means no
deviation from a random distribution (equivalent to sensitivity of 50% and specicity of
50%). k coefcient varies between 1 (complete
disagreement) and z1 (complete agreement).

11.1.5. Estimation of repeatability. Ordinal

scale data are amenable to binomial statistics.
Table XXVII gives selected 95% binomial
condence limits to the observed proportion
of results for those readers who do not have
statistical tables or computer programmes at
their bench. It shows that a specimen that lies
within a certain concentration category (e.g.
1z) at a probability of 95% or more is a
better control than another with a lower (even
as low as 50%) original probability, because
the higher original probability has a narrower
condence interval.

11.1.6. Qualied procedures for test-strip

reading

11.1.6.1. Visual reading. Qualied test strip

measurement is summarised in a tabular form
both for visual reading (11.1.6.1) and instrumental reading (11.1.6.2).

European Urinalysis Guidelines

57

Item

Standard

Method of checking

Identication of specimen

Label the specimen

Compare label with the working list if

analysing several specimens at once

Homogeneous specimen

Mix immediately before dipping

Even colour

Temperature of the specimen

z20C

Allow to stand for 15 30 min before

analysis

Quality of strips

Date still acceptable

Expiration date

Environment

Sufcient light

Articial light is an adequate substitute

for daylight to allow easy reading

Calm space for working

Allow no other activity during the

procedure

Dipping

Follow manufacturer's guidance

Observation by trainer

Timing

Use a timer showing seconds

Not possible afterwards

Reading

Compare with the colours on the

packing vial

Train before actual patient analysis

Internal quality control

Control solutions measured daily

if analysis is done daily

Follow-up charts maintained

External quality control

Participation expected, organized

with local supporting laboratory

Reports available

Storage of strips

No physical problems associated

with storage

Outlook of the strips (bent, wet, etc.),

closed vials

Reporting

Use the predened units. Fill in

the patient record or working
list immediately

Train before actual patient analysis

11.1.6.2. Reectometric reading

Item

Standard

Method of checking

Identication of specimen

Label the specimen

Compare label with the working list

if analysing several specimens at once

Homogeneous specimen

Mix immediately before dipping

Even colour

Temperature of the specimen

z20C

Allow to stand for 15 30 min before

analysis

Quality of strips

Date still acceptable

Expiration date

Protocol for instrumental

measurement

Protocol written locally after

training

Written protocol available

Internal quality control

Control solutions measured

daily

Follow-up charts maintained

External quality control

Participation expected, organized

with national or foreign EQAS
provider or within smaller groups

Reports available

Maintenance

Instrument manual followed

Documentation of service and repairs

Calibration of the instrument

and methods, changes of reagents

Methods described mainly by the

manufacturer. In vitro medical
devices directive by the European
Council

Documentation by the manufacturer,

changes of strip lots recorded

58

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE XXVII. Binomial 95% condence intervals of proportions.

Proportion of results falling into the same concentration categorya
No. of resultsb

50%

60%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

95%

20
50
100
1000

27 73%
36 65%
40 60%
47 53%

36 81%
45 74%
50 70%
57 63%

46 88%
55 82%
60 79%
67 73%

51 91%
62 87%
65 83%
72 78%

56 94%
66 90%
71 87%
78 83%

62 97%
73 94%
77 91%
83 87%

68 99%
78 97%
82 95%
88 92%

75 100%
86 99%
89 98%
94 96%

a
Obtained proportion of results within the most frequent category when rst estimating the level of a quality
control solution.
b
No. of test strip measurements from a patient or control specimen used for the estimate.

11.2. Detail of quantitative urine measurements

11.2.1. Health-associated reference intervals of
urine proteins. The health-associated upper reference limits shown for excreted urine proteins
derive from references 109 and 111 (Table
XXVIII). These point estimates have wide condence intervals owing to skewed distributions
of values as shown in the latter reference.
11.2.2. Diagnostic classications based on proteinuria. Sensitive detection and differentiation
of prerenal, glomerular, tubular and postrenal
proteinuria is now available with a low detection limit by means of specic protein measurements [267, 268]. Algorithms have also
been developed to classify patients based on
these measurements using two-dimensional
reference areas [269] (Fig. 5).
Other diagnostic classications have been
created from different protein to protein concentration ratios in urine [80, 123, 270, 271]
(Table XXIX).

11.2.3. Detail of quantitative measurement procedures

Total protein
Principles of measurement
Benzethonium chloride [272] and trichloroacetic
acid precipitation [273], dye binding methods
with Brome-phenol blue [274], Coomassie
brilliant blue [275], Ponceau red [276] and
pyrogallol-red [277], nephelometry and turbidimetry have been suggested. All these methods
can be automated, in contrast to the biuret
examination [278]. Determination of total
protein is a compromise because no procedure
detects all the proteins in urine.

Calibration. Calibration of total protein concentration can be performed with a reference

sample of diluted serum. The use of albumin
solution is preferable and more reproducible,
however. CRM 470 standard is available as a
primary calibrator [279].

TABLE XXVIII. Upper 95% reference limits (URL) for protein-creatinine ratios in urines from healthy individuals. SI units are favoured over conventional units.
Protein

Type of specimen

Total protein
Albumin

Second morning
First morning
Random
First morning
Random
First morning
Random
First morning
Random
First morning
Random

IgG
Protein HC
(a1-microglobulin)
k-immuno-reactivity
l-immuno-reactivity
a

Upper 95% reference limit

(g/mol creatinine; SI unit)

Upper 95% reference limit

(mg/g creatinine;
conventional unit)

8a
3.0
5.3
0.7
1.0
0.5
0.7
0.4
0.7
Below detection limit
0.7

70a
27
47
6
9
4
6
4
6
Below detection limit
6

Turbidometric trichloroacetic acid precipitation method (see below).

European Urinalysis Guidelines

59

FIG. 5. Differentiation of (1) primary glomerulopathies, (2) secondary glomerulopathies and (3) tubulointerstitial nephropathies by specic protein measurements. The shaded area represents the health-associated
values.
TABLE XXIX. Concentration ratios of proteins used for differentiation of proteinuria.
Concentration ratio
a2-macroglobulin/albumin
IgG/albumin
a1-microglobulin/albumin
CRP (serum)/CRP (urine)
(AlbuminzIgGza1-microglobulin)/total protein)
Immunoglobulin light chain k/l ratio

Upper limits of reference intervals in healthy

individuals. Because these are method-dependent, several intervals are cited:
Pyrogallol red method: v180 mg/day [280], for
pregnant women v260 mg/day [281]
Biuret method: v150 mg/day [278]
Turbidimetric method: v75 mg/day [273]
Turbidimetric method: Protein/creatinine v8 g/
mol (second morning urine [109]); (or v70 mg/
g in conventional units)

Decision limit

Suggested pathological condition

v0.02
w0.02
v0.03
w0.03
w0.1
v0.1
w1.0
v1.0
w0.6
v0.6
v1
1 5.2
w5.2

Renal haematuria
Postrenal haematuria
Selective glomerular proteinuria
Non-selective glomerular proteinuria
Mixed proteinuria
Glomerular proteinuria
Bacterial infection
Rejection of renal transplant
Renal proteinuria
Suspicion of Bence-Jones proteinuria
Monoclonal lambda chain
Polyclonal light chains
Monoclonal kappa chain

Albumin
Principles of measurement
Nephelometry, turbidimetry, RIA, ELISA and
EMIT with monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies are commonly used.
Calibration. CRM 470 standard is the primary
reference material [279]. Professional societies
and major diagnostic companies have agreed
to create secondary standards and join consensus interim reference ranges based on the
CRM 470 [282].

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ECLM European Urinalysis Group

Prediction limit for incipient diabetic nephropathy. An albumin excretion rate of w20 mg/min
(traditionally cited unit), which corresponds to
an approximate albumin/creatinine w4 g/mol
(30 mg/g in conventional units), will predict
incipient diabetic nephropathy [10].
Interpretation. Albumin/creatinine ratios decrease
slightly with age [283]. The albumin/creatinine
ratio is also slightly higher in women
than in men because of lower creatinine
excretion in women. Upper normal limit in
pregnancy is 30 mg/day (24-h collection) [281].
The average intra-individual coefcient of variation of albumin excretion from day to day is
approximately 20 30% [109], and even larger
for diabetic patients [258]. Diagnostic decisions
should therefore not be based on a single measurement, especially if the result is equivocal.
a1-microglobulin (protein HC)
Principles of measurement
Nephelometry, turbidimetry, RIA and ELISA
with polyclonal antibodies are commonly used.
Calibration. Measurement of a1-microglobulin
or protein HC concentration has not been
standardized yet. An international calibrator
is highly desirable.
Interpretation. The within-subject coefcient of
variation from day to day is 20% on average
[109]. a1-microglobulin (30 33 kDa) is produced in the liver and lymphocytes. This glycoprotein appears in serum in free (50%), albumin
bound (v10%) and IgA-bound forms (40%).
Only the free form is ltered and reabsorbed in
the proximal tubule to 99.8%. Increased concentrations in the urine are found in tubulo-interstitial dysfunction or in nephropathies.
Creatinine
Principles of measurement
Methods based on the Jaffe reaction [284]
should be replaced with more specic enzymatic
methods [285]. Reference measurement procedure is based on isotope dilution mass
spectrometry [286].
Calibration. A known reference material for
serum creatinine is SRM 914a [257]. Weighed
out creatinine solution may serve as an
approximate estimate.

Reference interval from healthy individuals

and interpretation. Creatinine in urine:
7 20 mmol/day (0.8 2.2 g/day). Creatinine
excretion rate depends on muscle mass. Creatinine is almost entirely ltered by the glomeruli and only traces are secreted by the
tubules. The fraction of tubular secretion
increases, however, with reduced glomerular
ltration rate. High protein meals and intense
physical exercise lead to increased urinary
creatinine concentrations.
Osmolality
Principles of measurement
Osmometry follows directly the denition of
osmolality: it is based on either of the two
colligative properties, a decrease in freezing
point or an increase in the evaporation point of
solutions.
Interpretation. Urea, ammonia and monovalent ions are mostly responsible for urine
osmolality. With the maximum antidiuresis
the urine reaches an osmolality of about
1200 mOsm/kg H2O. Maximal diuresis may
result in an osmolality as low as 50 mOsm/kg
H2O [127]. The concentrated morning urine
after an overnight restriction of uid intake
reaches an osmolality of at least 700 mOsm/kg
H2O in healthy individuals. In chronic renal
failure, the urine remains isotonic within the
range 300 350 mOsm/kg H2O.
Relative volumic mass (old terms: relative density; specic gravity). Calibration. Relative
volumic mass measurement can be calibrated
in practice by measuring volumic masses (densities) of pooled human urine, i.e., by weighing out accurately known volumes of pooled
human urine. In this way, refractometers and
related instruments can be adjusted using a
calibrated balance.
Principles of measurement. Measuring principles include urinometry, refractometry, oscillometry and test strips. These have been
reviewed extensively [127]. It is to be noted
that there are marked differences in the accuracy of these methods [287].
Reference interval and interpretation. Relative
volumic mass is primarily a function of glu-

European Urinalysis Guidelines

cose, phosphate and carbonate. For human
urine, the values are within the interval
1.003 1.035. Morning urine of healthy individuals has a relative density of 1.020 or more
after overnight restriction of uid intake. Isotonic range in chronic renal failure corresponds to relative densities 1.010 1.012 [127].
Conductivity. Conductometry of urine (measured as a current ow between two electrodes)
has recently also become readily available
[128, 132]. Since the amount of charge in
urine (the ionic strength) is related to urine
concentration, the conductivity is also related
to water excretion. Diet-dependent intake
affects the excretion of salt from healthy individuals as well as from patients. Data on
reliability in clinical practice are accumulating.
11.3. Detail of pregnancy examinations
Specimen
The concentrated morning urine usually contains the highest concentrations of hCG and
is therefore the best specimen. If the urine
specimen is too dilute, false-negative results
may occur in early pregnancy. Stability and
storage: If the examination is performed
within 48 h after collection, the specimen can
be kept in the refrigerator (2 8C). If examination is delayed for more than 48 h, the specimen should be frozen.
Examinations
Different commercial systems for rapid and
sensitive detection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are available. Specic monoclonal antibodies to the intact hCG molecule
(both alpha-chain and beta-chain) should be
used.
Laboratories or point-of-care units should
consider carefully what is the best sensitivity
limit for their practice, and whether urine or
blood specimens should be used. Nominal
sensitivity may be chosen between 25 and
500 IU/L in different clinical situations (emergency diagnostics of extrauterine pregnancies,
antenatal clinic detecting normal pregnancies,
X-ray department excluding pregnancies). The
rapid test selected should be evaluated against a
quantitative hCG method with the help of local
laboratory.

61

Interpretation
Ordinal scale reporting with two categories is
sufcient for a rapid examination (either positive or negative result). A weak positive result
indicates a slightly elevated hCG concentration but below 25 IU/L (or below 200
500 IU/L if used in some ambulatory units).
It is then good laboratory practice to ask for
a new sample and retest it after an additional
2 days. Pharmacies selling kits for home testing often apply the highest sensitivity of
25 IU/L.

ANNEX 12. DETAIL OF PARTICLE

ANALYSIS
12.1. Visual microscopy methods
12.1.1. Chamber counting of uncentrifuged
urine for evaluation purposes (Level 3). Chamber counting of uncentrifuged urine is recommended for comparisons of automated
particle counting with visual methods, because
counts obtained from a chamber are more
precise than those obtained under coverslip on
a microscope slide. If counted without centrifugation, the loss of particles during centrifugation does not interfere with the results. In
routine methods, cells and other particles in a
volume of 1 mL are counted. For evaluation
of particles other than WBC or RBC, this is
not statistically sufcient. For precise evaluation, at least 100 cells should be counted to
reach a CV~10%, and 400 cells should be
counted to reach a CV~5%, based on the
Poisson distribution (see Section 9.4.1).
Health-associated reference intervals of many
urine particles are, however, below 2 particles/
mL (v26106/L).
Variation of the counting volume should be
less than 5% in a chamber used for reference
counting (compared to less than 10% in routine
chambers).
Staining of specimens and/or phase contrast
microscopy is needed for accurate identication
of the various urine particles. For evaluation of
test-strip readers, leukocyte (granulocyte) and
erythrocyte counts are needed only. An example
of a reliable comparison method to validate an
automated particle analyser was recently published which used both phase contrast optics
and supravital staining but only 1 mL volumes
for practical reasons [69]. Consequently, counts

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ECLM European Urinalysis Group

below 10 ( 30) particles6106/L were statistically unreliable.

12.1.2. Standardized urine sediment examination (Level 2).
Fixation and drying of the specimen, to
permit careful cytological examination [41], is
generally considered too time-consuming for
basic urinalysis. Wet sample preparation with
or without preservatives remains a pragmatic
compromise for routine laboratories.
Centrifugation. The exact concentration
factor is important to relate the ndings to
the original volume of urine. Optimum selection
of the factor depends on the size of the
specimen tubes used and the suction equipment
to remove the supernatant; the range is usually
10 to 25-fold concentration. Centrifugation
should be at 4006g for 5 min (adjust rpm
values according to the radius of the rotor in
the centrifuge; see the equation below). A
refrigerated centrifuge is an advantage when
working with larger series of non-preserved
specimens or when undertaking parallel tasks.
On the other hand, precipitation of crystals is
increased at low temperatures.
RCF~1.118610 56r6RPM2
where r~ the radius of the centrifuge from
the centre of the spindle to the bottom of the
tube (cm)
RPM~60006d 1/r, if RCF~4006g
Staining and optics: Phase contrast microscopy is recommended. Compared with brighteld microscopy, the phase contrast technique
allows better detection, especially of bacteria,
RBC and hyaline casts. With bright-eld
microscopy, supravital stains are obligatory
for proper differentiation. In routine use, a
colour contrast with blue and red (e.g. Sternheimer's Alcian blue pyronin B staining [171,
288]) is better than the older violet-coloured
gentian violet saffranin O (SternheimerMalbin) method [289]. Publications on the
successful use of toluidine blue also exist
[172]. Stained preparations can also be routinely
reviewed by phase-contrast optics to benet
from both techniques. Filters for polarizing
light are helpful for correct identication of
crystals and, in some cases, also of lipids.
For special purposes, other staining procedures should be used. For detection of

eosinophilic granulocytes, Hansel's stain is

recommended [145]. In the proper cytological
examination of urine to detect cancer cells,
Papanicolaou staining with a xation procedure
is a worldwide practice. This is beyond the
scope of the general laboratory.
Quantitation. A high-quality binocular microscope should be equipped with objectives for
low (106 to 166) and high (406) magnication. Oculars are traditionally from 106 to
12.5 6 magnication. The volume applied
under a coverslip denes the average height of
the uid layer under a coverslip of dened size.
The diameter of the vieweld is equal to the
ocular vieweld number (usually from 18 to
22 mm; given by the manufacturer) divided by
objective magnication. It can be measured
with special tools as well (metric scales are
available as microscope slides).
Example: 10 mL of urine is concentrated into
0.5 mL~20-fold concentration; 0.05 mL stain
is added. Then 13 mL is applied under
a 18618 mm coverslip. Thus the uid
layer~13/(18618)~0.040 mm thick. If it is
investigated under 10640 magnication with
ocular vieweld number 22 (diameter of the
vieweld ~22 mm/40~0.55 mm), the volume
of a high-power eld (HPF) is then:
0.0406p6(0.55/2)2~0.00950 mm3 or mL
Because of the 20-fold concentration and 10%
dilution because of the dye, one HPF corresponds to 0.173 mL of original urine volume.
In this case, n RBC/HPF correspond to n
RBC/0.173 mL~5.8 6 n RBC6106/L.
E.g. 4 RBC/HPF equals to 23 RBC6 106/L.
Reporting. An average particle count rather
than a range should be reported. It is practical
to report it as particles/high power eld (HPF).
It is, however, recommended that the number
concentration of particles be calculated also to
the internationally comparable units of volume
(L), as shown above. Precise counting may have
an upper limit for practical reasons, equalling
about 200 300 particles 6 106/L. For numerous microbes, ordinal scale reports, such as
``none'', ``few'', ``moderate'' and ``abundant''
are acceptable.
The details for the standardized sediment
examination are summarized in Table XXX.
Visual microscopy procedure for routine. Cool
down the specimen (z4C) to allow a delay

European Urinalysis Guidelines

of up to 4 h if not preserved or specically
investigated for crystals (precipitation of
urates will follow after cooling). At z20C
the delay of microscopy should not exceed 1 h
after voiding.
Always use a dened volume of urine (usually
5 15 mL). Centrifuge the specimen at 4006g
at z4C (if not preserved) for 5 min. Remove
the supernatant with an adjusted vacuum tool;
do not decant (an inaccurate method). Aim at
the decided concentration factor, e.g. 20 (12 mL
p 0.6 mL or 10 mL p 0.5 mL).
After suction, add 10% of the volume (60 mL or
50 mL) of supravital stain if your laboratory is
using a stain. Mix gently. Use a cooling plate if
the specimens have to wait before investigation.
After gentle resuspension, pipette a known

63

volume of sediment on to a microscope slide.

Add the coverslip horizontally to maximize
even distribution. Examples: 13 mL is an
appropriate volume for an 18618 mm coverslip, while 35 50 mL may be used for a
24632 mm coverslip. The smaller volumes
and coverslips have economic advantages in
bigger laboratories.
Investigate the sample rst under low-power
(106 or 166) magnication to see the usually
uneven distribution of particles on the slide, as
well as to note the presence of rare elements,
such as casts and epithelial cells. Then count
the number of different particles per highpower (406) objective eld, reporting the
average number observed in at least 10 elds
selected from all areas of the coverslip (the

TABLE XXX. Summary of standardized urinary sediment examination.

Item

Standard

Method of checking

Delay

Investigate within 4 h from micturition (if stored

at z4C), or within 30 min at z20C to allow
evaluation of all cells; otherwise use
preservatives after evaluation

Documented times of
collection

Original volume of urine

5 12 mL

Line marked on the tube

Centrifugation

4006g for 5 min, preferably at z4C if delays

occur

Check with the

Supplier of the
centrifuge

Removal of supernatant

Suction to a dened nal concentration factor

Calibrate the nal

volume by weighing pooled
urine (buffer solutions have
a different surface tension)

Method of staining and

microscopy

Phase-contrast microscopy, or stainingzbrighteld microscopy; polarized optics when

needed; low and high-power magnication
(6400)

Consult local supplier

Volume investigated under

microscopic eld

Dene and calculate

Microscopic slide with a

metric scale

List of reported components

Dene the report format

These guidelines

Units of reporting

Particles/L (particles/4006 magnied high-power

eld)

Calculate the equivalence

Reproducible process

Written operating procedures

Training of personnel,
blind peer reviews

Internal quality control

Training courses organized locally

Double-check specimens weekly

Two independent
investigations for the
same specimen

External quality assessment

Participation in an EQA programme

Documents of results
available

Calibration

Traceability of measured quantities

Evaluation against
uncentrifuged specimens

64

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

total number of elds to be counted depends

on the concentration of particles: lower numbers require more elds to reach statistical
reliability).
12.1.3. Morphologic criteria for urinary sediment ndings (Level 2). Recent atlases showing detailed morphology of urinary elements
for reference purposes must be consulted until
enough experience is accumulated [15, 41, 56,
288, 290 292].
12.1.3.1. Detailed characteristics. Erythrocytes.
The size and haemoglobin content of erythrocytes can vary according to the osmolality of
urine (the lower the osmolality the larger the
cell and the lower the haemoglobin content).
``Ghost erythrocytes'' that have lost their haemoglobin content can be missed if bright eld
microscopy is used alone. At low osmolality
values, erythrocytes can even lyse. Erythrocytes usually have a diameter of 4 7 mm. The
appearance can vary according to the source
of haematuria: isomorphic erythrocytes usually
indicate a post-renal bleeding, while dysmorphic erythrocytes indicate glomerular
disease (see below).
Dysmorphic red cells. Phase-contrast microscopy is mandatory. Report the total number of
erythrocytes/HPF and the percentage of dysmorphic red cells. Fassett et al. (1982) originally
proposed that a fraction of 80% dysmorphic RBC
or higher indicates renal bleeding [147]. A fraction
of 80% isomorphic (normal) RBC indicates postrenal bleeding. In the middle, there are mixed
cases. It is recommended that the fraction of
acanthocytes be reported as well, because they are
readily identied by the blebs on the cell surface
and a presence of 5% or more acanthocytes is
indicative for renal bleeding (see also Section 6.1).
The morphological appearances of dysmorphic
red cells, especially acanthocytes, can be studied
from the available publications. The correct
evaluation of abnormal RBC morphology may
depend on pH and osmolality of the urine, which is
why morning specimens are recommended if
possible [151]; acanthocyte formation does not
occur in vitro with the same frequency as other
dysmorphic shapes [150]. Special training of the
investigator is needed.
Leukocytes. Polymorphonuclear granulocytes
are the most frequent leukocytes found in urine.

Their multilobular nucleus and cytoplasmic

granules make them readily identiable. In
dye-binding methods, living granulocytes do
not always allow dyes to enter the cell. In
Sternheimer staining, nuclei and inclusions
usually stain bright blue, while cytoplasm
remains reddish or brownish. Granulocytes
may aggregate to form clumps. They also lyse
easily when the osmolality is low or when the
pH is high [89]. Eosinophils need special stains
for their detection (Hansel's stain [145]).
Macrophages (histiocytes) are often seen in
association with inammation. They show thin
pink granular cytoplasm, often lled with red
blood cell remnants and other vacuoles, and
bluish nuclei with unevenly distributed chromatin on Sternheimer staining.
Lymphocytes have smooth nuclei that almost
ll the cell. In Sternheimer staining, they are
usually dark blue. Cytoplasm is scarce and
without granules.
Tubular epithelial cells. Different types of
tubular cells line the different segments of the
renal tubules. As a consequence, several types
of tubular cells can be found in the urine, which
differ in size and shape. Tubular cells are
mononucleated with granular cytoplasm and
are larger than leukocytes. Most nuclei are
round to ovoid. They have an average diameter
of about 13 mm, and probably come from the
proximal segments of the tubules. Less frequently, rectangular, polygonal or even columnar cells can be seen, which originate from
distal tubules or collecting ducts. In Sternheimer staining, tubular cells usually have dense,
granular red cytoplasm that may contain lipid
droplets in patients with severe proteinuria, and
a blue or purple nucleus. A practical way to
learn the morphology of tubular cells is to look
for these cells within casts: epithelial cells within
casts are by denition tubular epithelial cells.
Transitional epithelial (urothelial) cells. Division of urothelial cells into supercial and
deeper cells has been described recently [293].
Supercial urothelial cells are usually round
to oval mononucleated cells with a mean
diameter of about 30 mm, and a pale halo
around the nucleus. Occasionally they can be
bi- or multinucleated. These cells are a frequent
nding in patients with urinary tract infection
and urological disorders.
Deep urothelial cells are smaller than supercial cells (mean diameter about 17 mm). They

European Urinalysis Guidelines

may exhibit various shapes, but they have
mostly a club-like or an ovoid appearance, a
central or peripheral nucleus and thin granular
cytoplasm. Usually they are found in association with urothelial carcinoma, ureteric stones
or hydronephrosis. These cells stain darker than
supercial urothelial cells. Atypical forms of
urothelial cells can also be found in association
with the rapid techniques of cellular preparation
used in routine urinalysis [172, 288]. Their
interpretation should be undertaken in specialized cytological laboratories.
Squamous epithelial cells. Squamous epithelial
cells are the commonest cells of the urine. They
have a polygonal shape, a central nucleus and
an average diameter of about 55 mm. Squamous
cells derive from urethra and vagina, and are
usually markers of contamination of urine
during specimen collection.
Casts. Casts are elongated elements with a
cylindrical shape that varies due to bending,
wrinkling and irregular edges. The main types
of casts are described below.
Hyaline casts. These have a matrix with low
refractive index and are best identied by phase
contrast microscope. They are found in both
renal parenchymal diseases and in normal
subjects.
Granular casts. These can contain either ne
or coarse granules. They are not usually found
in normal subjects and when present suggest the
presence of renal disease.
Waxy casts. These are usually large, with
clear-cut edges or indented borders, and are
refractile. Waxy casts have a homogeneous
appearance, just like wax. They are found in
patients with renal insufciency or failure.
Fatty casts. These contain lipid particles.
Fatty casts are typical of patients with heavy
proteinuria associated with lipoproteinuria.
Cellular casts. According to the cells contained, cellular casts are classied as:
Erythrocyte casts (which always indicate
bleeding from the renal parenchyma)
Leukocyte (usually Granulocyte) casts
(which may indicate acute pyelonephritis,
acute interstitial nephritis or proliferative glomerulonephritides)
Tubular epithelial cell casts (which are
found for example in patients with acute
tubular necrosis, acute interstitial nephritis,
acute cellular rejection of grafted kidney and
glomerular disorders).

65

Owing to degenerative phenomena, it is often

difcult to say whether the cells within the casts are
tubular rather than leukocytes. In such cases the
correct denition should be ``cellular cast'' only.
Haemoglobin and myoglobin casts. These are
brownish in colour with a granular surface. More
frequently, haemoglobin casts derive from erythrocyte casts. Therefore, they too indicate renal
parenchymal bleeding. However, haemoglobin
casts may also be due to haemoglobinuria caused
by intravascular haemolysis. Myoglobin casts
may be seen in the urine of patients with renal
failure caused by crush syndrome.
Bilirubin casts stain yellow-brown due to
water-soluble (conjugated) bilirubin excreted
into urine. Urinary bilirubin may be used in
differentiation of icteric patients if serum
measurements are lacking.
Bacterial and yeast casts. These are rare.
However, they may be seen in immunocompromised patients with bacterial or fungal
infection affecting the kidneys.
Lipids are usually seen as isolated or clumped
droplets (either free or within cells and casts), or
as oval fat bodies (round-shaped particles
containing packed lipid droplets), fatty casts
or cholesterol crystals (see below). Lipids are
identied because of their refractility and their
ability to polarize light.
Crystals. Uric acid. Lozenges, barrels or
rosettes with a typical amber colour and birefringence under polarized light.
Calcium oxalate dihydrate. Typically bipyramidal. They can appear also in aggregates.
Only large crystals show birefringence.
Calcium oxalate monohydrate. Ovoid, dumbbell or biconcave discs, always brightly birefringent.
Calcium phosphate. Prisms, needles or rosettes
that polarize light. When occurring in plates,
calcium phosphate is not birefringent.
Triple phosphate. Transparent birefringent
prisms, usually with a ``cofn lid'' appearance.
Amorphous urates and phosphates. Granular
particles, often in clumps. Urates are found in
acid urine, phosphates in alkaline urine. Urates
polarize light while phosphates do not.
Cystine. Thin, hexagonal, birefringent plates
with irregular sides. They can be isolated, heaped
upon one another, or in clumps and rosettes. They
can be seen at low pH (v6) and usually after an
overnight incubation at z4C.

66

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

Leucine. Oily-looking spheres with concentric

striations.
Tyrosine. Thin needles, often aggregated in
bundles or rosettes.
Cholesterol. Transparent thin plates with
sharp edges and corners. These are associated
with heavy proteinuria.
Crystals of drugs. Sulphadiazine (crystals with
the appearance of ``sheaves of wheat''), triamterene, acyclovir (birefringent and needleshaped crystals), indinavir (plate or star-like
crystals [294] and vitamin C [56, 163].
Microbes. Bacteria may be seen on routine
microscopy; rods are particularly visible with
phase contrast microscopy. Cocci may be
confused with salt precipitation.
Fungi. Cells of Candida spp. appear as ovoid
or roundish elements not absorbing stain. They
also appear as hyphi. Budding is the most
typical morphological feature. On most occasions they are due to contamination from the
vagina, although they may represent true
infection in the chronically debilitated or
immunosuppressed patient.
Protozoa. Trichomonas vaginalis, when alive,
is easily identied owing to the motility of the
agella and the rapid and irregular movements
of the body. When dead it is similar to
leukocytes. In most cases it is in the urine as
a consequence of genital contamination.
Parasites. The diagnosis of parasitic infestation by Schistosoma haematobium relies on the
observation of the eggs in the urine. These
measure about 140650 mm and are spindleshaped with a round anterior and a conical
posterior end tapering into a delicate terminal
spine. They may be seen to hatch if the urine is
dilute enough.
Details of urinary particles are tabulated for
easier reference in routine practice in Tables
XXXI and XXXII.

12.2. Automated particle analysis

Manufacturers of urine particle analysers
should describe in detail the differentiation
capability of their instrument, including sensitivity and specicity data against a manual
comparison method, such as chamber counting,
sediment morphology or bacterial culture.
General as well as specic patient populations
should be targeted in the evaluations to

establish the optimal intended diagnostic use

for a given instrument. Based on the technical
principles used, advice on specimen collection
and storage is essential to obtain reliable results
and avoid artefacts. Lists of known interferences should be made generally available as
soon as they are discovered during evaluations
and in clinical practice.
Customers should work out standard operating procedures with the help of manufacturers.
These should include descriptions of regular
working, combinations of different analyses
from the same urine, quality assessment protocols and measures to be taken in the event of
instrument alarms or error messages. Specimens
not amenable to automated analysis should be
listed, as well as the standardized alternative
manual methods.

12.3. Health-associated upper reference limits

of particles in morning urine
Healthy reference intervals depend heavily on
preanalytical as well as analytical standardization and delay of examination. Table XXXIII
cites some of the 98% and 95% upper reference
limits found in the earlier literature [170, 185,
295 297]. Comprehensive detail necessary to
evaluate the results has not been published. The
gures are concentrations rather than excretion
rates, as originally proposed by Addis [298];
lysis of cells unfortunately diminishes the
validity of excretion rates based on 12-h
collections. Adjustment to volume rate (diuresis) should be considered.
Rough estimates for arbitrary (non-parametric) 95% upper reference limits in morning
urine without centrifugation: leukocytes and
erythrocytes v10 x 106/L.
NOTE 1. Owing to the procedural uncertainties these upper limits are given as arbitrary
inequality gures only. Female specimens are
more vulnerable than male specimens for preanalytical errors, as shown by the Stansfeld &
Webb study. In addition, erythrocytes may be
difcult to see without phase contrast optics
and proper 6400 magnication [295]. For best
clinical comparability, concentrated rst (or
low-diuresis second) morning urine should be
collected as a washed mid-stream collection and
investigated according to an identical procedure
that is applied to the patients as well. About

European Urinalysis Guidelines

67

TABLE XXXI. Differentiation of urine cells by phase contrast optics or supravital staining.
Cell type

Nucleus

Cytoplasm

Other

Granulocyte

Multilobular or rod-shaped,
does not stain always, bright
blue when stains

granular, degenerates
easily

occurs often in
clumps, round
shape

Granular

Use Hansel's
staining for
identication
Phagocytosed pieces
of granules; round,
tuberous and
dendritic shapes
occur

Eosinophilic granulocytes

Macrophage

Bluish, chromatin uneven

``Thin'', granular, varying

size of red cells inside

Lymphocyte

Fills the cell almost entirely,

(dark) blue clear

Smooth, scarce broken

cell membrane thin rim

Squamous epithelial cell

Degenerated, small, round,

(polygonal) central, even free
in urine

Pale, large, slightly

granular adhering
bacteria

Often in clumps,
polygonal shapes,
may be folded

Transitional epithelial cell,

supercial

Oval or round, small,

chromatin nely granular,
nucleolus is often visible
w1 nuclei may occur

Large, with clear

perinuclear halo nely
granular pink

Round or oval shape,

also in clumps
(catheter?)

Transitional epithelial cell,

deep

Well-dened, large, evident

nucleoli, central or eccentric

Many granules may be

dark red atypical forms

Various shapes,
occasionally atypical
forms

Renal tubular epithelial

cell

Homogeneous, clear,
blue/violet, nucleolus may
be evident

Granular, often dark

red, ``thick'', degenerative
granules or fat often
inside

Look at cells within

the casts; round, or
oval, also in clumps

Prostatic epithelial cells cannot be differentiated from transitional epithelial cells by this method; prostatic
particles may be seen occasionally.
The intensity of staining varies and is dependent on the length of exposure to the stain as well as unknown
factors related to the specimen. The ratio of blue to red is also affected by the batch of stain used in preparing the
stain mixture.
TABLE XXXII. Differentiation of other urine particles (phase contrast or supravital staining).
Particle type
Microbes:
Bacteria
rods

Features

Dark, often in chains

cocci

Dark, isolated, in pairs, chains or clusters

Yeasts

Nucleus often visible, budding; do not stain well; also as branching hyphi (pseudomyceliae)

Casts:
Cellular casts

Cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, tubular cells) packed and/or plunged in the cast matrix

Microbial casts Granular appearance; rods may appear clearly discernible

Hyaline cast

Low refractive index, may occur as darkly blue, compact or brillar, occasionally
convoluted

Granular cast

Granules of various size and colour, usually red

Waxy cast

Refractile, with hard and indented edges; colour red rather than blue

Fatty cast

Lipid droplets can be isolated, in clumps, or packed; occasionally protruding cholesterol

spicules

Pigmented cast Haemoglobin and myoglobin (red-brown), bilirubin (yellow-orange-brown)

68

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

TABLE XXXIII. Health-associated upper reference limits (URL) of urine leukocyte (WBC) and erythrocyte
(RBC) concentrations in uncentrifuged specimens.
Population

Procedure details

Sample size

Estimated URL (particle:

percentile, value6106/L)

Boys, 0 14 years,
in-patients

Mid-stream specimen

359 patients/
1142 specimens

WBC: 98%, 10
95%, 5

Girls, 0 14 years,
in-patients

Mid-stream specimen

273 patients/
1167 specimens
100

WBC: 98%, 90
95%, 50
WBC: 98%, 10

Boys and girls,

2 16 years

Mid-stream specimen,
volumic mass1.005
deleted

228 boys and

160 girls

WBC: 95%, 4
RBC: 95%, 13

296

Males, voluntary
individuals

Mid-stream specimen,
Morning urine

75

WBC: 98%,
95%,
RBC: 98%,
95%,

170

Adults

Not specied

714 femalesz
293 males~1007

RBC: 95%, 8

297

Adults

27

RBC: 95%, 2

185

Single-catheter specimen

Scanning electron
microscopy

Reference
295

a
a
a

9
58
4
3

295
295

a
Stansfeld and Webb (295) noticed the problem of collection of mid-stream urine specimens from girls. After
collecting single in-and-out catheter urine specimens, upper reference limits comparable to those of boys were
obtained.
b
Pollock et al. (185) used ltration of known volume of urine and scanning electron microscopy to establish the
true value for RBC concentration in rst morning urine. Gyory et al. (299) have also published health-associated
upper 95% reference limits from 1720 urine sediments counted in chamber: The limits were 1 RBC and 3
WBC6106/L (299). To avoid confusion, the gures obtained after centrifugation were not listed in the table.

half of the erythrocytes and leukocytes are lost

during centrifugation (when preparing urine
sediments).
NOTE 2. With statistically reliable total
numbers of individuals, selection criteria of
reference individuals or calculations may have
been defective, leading to non-standardized
results. Because of the skewed distributions,
parametric calculations may be misleading if the
skewness is not corrected properly. Exact
percentile estimates are in any case imprecise,
and a marked grey zone should be considered
(expressed as a condence interval of the
percentile estimate).
NOTE 3. Concentrations of erythrocytes and
leukocytes in urines of newborn individuals are
most likely higher than those given above.
NOTE 4. Diagnostic decision limits differ
from the given upper healthy reference limits.
For example, the probability of infection in a
non-standardized specimen increases when the
amount of granulocytes (leukocytes) rises from
10 to 100 6 106/L [180, 265].
Automated methods show higher precision at

lower cell counts due to the higher cell numbers

counted. It seems likely that new more precise
health-associated reference intervals will be
created based on re-assessed procedures and
new technology [132, 175, 300].
ANNEX 13. DETAIL OF MICROBIOLOGY
EXAMINATIONS
13.1. Suggested comparison method for
bacterial culture of urine (Level 3)
Substrates.
CLED (Cysteine-Lactose Electrolyte-Decient)
agar plate
Blood agar
Haematin agar
For more accurate identication of yeasts,
special methods are required.
Control strains, see Table XXXV.
Inoculation. Alternative A:
Ten microlitres of urine is inoculated with a
micropipette in the middle of a haematin agar

European Urinalysis Guidelines

69

TABLE XXXIV. Quantitative interpretation of growth.

Volume of inoculum

No. of colonies
on plate

Colony count in urine

(CFB/L)

Colony count in urine

(CFU/mL)

1 mL

1
10
100

106
107
108

103
104
105

10 mL

1
10
100

105
106
107

102
103
104

100 mL

1
10
100

104
105
106

101
102
103

plate and a blood agar plate. In addition, 1 mL

is inoculated on to CLED agar with a plastic or
platinum loop. When performing cultures on
suprapubic aspiration urine, a large 100-mL
amount of inoculum is recommended on blood
and haematin agar. Different amounts of
inoculum lead to different interpretations of
quantitative growth for each colony count
observed (Table XXXIV).
The inoculum is spread with a platinum or
plastic loop by streaking back and forth
through the drop a few times (Phase 1; Fig.
6). Finally, several streaks are made very close
to each other and perpendicular to the rst line
(Phase 2; Fig. 6). Quantitation is performed on
plates inoculated by a micropipette. Plates not
used for quantitation can be divided for two
different specimens.
Alternative B:
When a more accurate quantitative result
than that obtained by the method in alternative
A is necessary, the following procedure is
recommended. The sample is diluted 1:10 with

a neutral buffer; 100 mL of each dilution is

inoculated by means of a Drygalski spatulum
and a rotating platform (1 or 10 mL may not be
precise enough volumes for normal pipettes).
The colonies on the plates from at least three
dilutions are counted. The original concentration is calculated as the mean concentration
from the dilutions. (Scheme 1)
In order to raise the accuracy of the estimate
for mean bacterial concentration the number of
replicates can be increased, e.g., for disinfectant
examinations the same sample should be
analysed in 10 20 replicates. The counts
follow Poisson distribution.
Incubation times. The following incubation
temperatures, atmospheres and times are
recommended for best identication of species
and quantitative comparisons:
CLED agar
35 37C, aerobic 1z1 day
Blood agar
35 37C, anaerobic 2 days
Haematin agar 35 37C, 5% CO2 1z1 day

FIG. 6. Inoculation of a culture plate. (limitations of computer graphics must be understood in the interpretation of these drawings).

70

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

13.2. Routine loop cultures

The external work in quality assurance has
shown that there is great variation in the methodology of performing conventional urine cultures
despite earlier attempts at standardization.
Greater demands for faster and less expensive
service also justify the description that a minimum diagnostic performance be followed. The
lowest statistically reliable count to be reported
with this method is 107 CFB/L (104 CFU/mL).
Substrate.
CLED agar (for control strains see Table
XXXV)
Blood agar
Inoculation. One microlitre is inoculated with
a plastic or platinum loop on blood and
CLED agar. The inoculum is spread as
described above.

Incubation and interpretation

CLED agar 35 37C, aerobic 1z1 day
Blood agar 35 37C, CO2 1z1 day
Clearly positive and negative results (108 CFB/L
of primary pathogens or no growth) can be
reported after incubation for 1 day. Colony
morphology develops signicantly after an
additional day of growth (which can be carried
out in a 5% CO2 atmosphere for CLED agar if
blood agar is not used). This facilitates
identication of mixed ora that may contain
more resistant species or variants. An increase
of 8 10% in the frequency of isolation has been
reported after 2 days compared to a 1-day
culture [301, 302].
As an alternative to CLED-agar, there are
several new chromogenic media on the market.
These allow direct presumptive identication
of E. coli, Proteus/Morganella/Providencia and

Scheme 1. Serial dilution for quantitative bacteria counting.

European Urinalysis Guidelines

71

TABLE XXXV. Control strains for urine bacterial culture.

Medium
Blood agar
Blood agar
Blood agar
Blood agar
Blood agar anaerobic
Blood agar anaerobic
CLED agar
CLED agar
CLED agar
CLED agar

Species

ATCC no.

E. coli
S. aureus
S. pneumoniae
S. pyogenes
C. perfringens
P. anaerobius
E. coli
E. faecalis
P. mirabilis
S. aureus

25922
25923
6305
19615
13124
27337
25922
29212
29245
25923

enterococci. S. saprophyticus can also be identied using certain products. Aerobic incubation
at 35 37C is recommended for all products
[5, 6, 303 307].
Urine samples showing the presence of yeast
on microscopy can be inoculated on chromogenic yeast culture medium such as Chrom
Agar, which allows a direct presumptive
identication of Candida albicans C. tropicalis
and C. krusei.
13.3. Dipslide cultures
Equipment
Incubator 35 37C (note: thermometer for
temperature control)
Comparison chart for interpretation
Dipslides
Procedure
1. Check the expiry date of the dipslide.
2. Label the dipslide. Open the dipslide without
touching the agar surfaces. Verify that the
agar surfaces are even and shiny and that the
corners and edges are not dried or shrunken.
Any condensation in the tube must be
poured out.
3. Dip the slide in the urine specimen once,
moistening 75% of the agar surfaces. If the
amount of urine is inadequate, the agar
surfaces can be moistened by pouring the
urine over them once.
4. Let the excess urine drip off. Place the lower
edge of the dipslide on clean, absorbent
paper.
5. Screw the dipslide back together. Make sure
that the lid is tightly closed.

Incubation
35C,
35C,
35C,
35C,
35C,
35C,
35C,
35C,
35C,
35C,

aerobic 1 day
aerobic 1 day
aerobic 1 day
aerobic 1 day
anaerobic 1 day
anaerobic 1 day
aerobic 1 day
aerobic 1 day
aerobic 1 day
aerobic 1 day

Expected reaction
Growth
Growth
Growth,
Growth,
Growth,
Growth
Growth,
Growth,
Growth,
Growth,

alpha haemolysis
beta haemolysis
haemolysis
yellow
yellow
blue, no swarming
yellow

6. Incubate the dipslide at 35 37C overnight

(for 18 24 h).
7. If interpretation cannot be made on the
following morning, for example because of a
weekend, proceed as follows: Place the
dipslide as usual in the incubator and take
it out when leaving. Store it at z20C and
interpret it on Monday morning. Culturing
at z20C for 2 3 days is comparable to
culturing at 37C for 24 h.
8. Store the original urine specimen in the
refrigerator. If the dipslide is sent to
the bacteriological laboratory for susceptibility testing or evaluation, the analysis
will be more reliable if the original specimen can be sent as well. Urine specimens
should be under refrigeration when transported.
Interpretation of results
Colony concentration. The bacterial concentration is interpreted on the green side (CLED
agar) of the dipslide, since this does not contain antibacterial agents. Bacterial growth may
consist of large or very small colonies. High
bacterial concentration appears as merging
colonies. Interpretation is simplied if only
75% of the dipslide is immersed. By doing so,
a clean surface will be left for comparison. A
magnifying glass (126) also helps in the interpretation because small bacteria colonies
are differentiated better, for example, from
crystals.
Note: Do not forget to state the volume unit
of the concentration (L or mL as used).
Mixed ora. Note different appearances of
bacterial colonies; for example, different sizes,
colours or shapes. The presence of several

72

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

Evaluation of growth

Alternative

Arbitrary quantity as read against the control chart

Interpretation

v106 CFB/L
(v103 CFU/mL)

No growth

v107 CFB/L
(v104 CFU/mL) not E. coli

Negative

w106 CFB/L
(w103 CFU/mL) E. coli

Positive

w107 CFB/L
(w104 CFU/mL) not E. coli

Urine and dipslide are sent to

microbiology laboratory for
further evaluation

Mixed ora (no concentration given)

Negative

Mixed ora with E. coli (no concentration given)

New examination recommended

bacterial species is often a sign of contamination during collection. Use a magnifying glass!

Growth of E. coli. On the special agar, E. coli

appears as brown or black colonies. E. coli is
usually lactose fermenting (w90%). Even nonlactose fermenting strains that appear as black
or brown growth on special agar for E. coli
should be classied as E. coli.

Evaluation. Alternatives 1, 2 and 5 should be

considered negative. Within alternatives 4 and
6 there is a possibility for both positive and
negative ndings. Urine specimen and dipslide
should be sent to a microbiology laboratory
for further evaluation and, if necessary, for
identication and susceptibility testing. Alternative 3 should be considered a positive nding. References are given at the end of these
guidelines [207, 209].

13.4. Detail of identication of uropathogenic

species (Level 2 methodology)
A proposal for identifying species of urinary
isolates in routine diagnostics is compiled
below, based on cultures on CLED and blood
agar. The aim is to state the minimum criteria
for positive results and additional useful criteria
when diagnosing urinary tract infection.

Non-fastidious micro-organisms
A. Gram-positive bacteria
Staphylococci Gram-positive, catalase-positive
cocci in clusters. Routinely divided into only
three groups:
. S. saprophyticus
. S. aureus
. Other coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS).
1. S. saprophyticus: Minimum criteria: Typical
colony morphology, catalase-positive, DNasenegative,* Novobiocin resistant, zone v16
mm with a 5 mg disc.
. Typical colony morphology: porcelain to
ivory coloured colonies on blood agar, yellowish on CLED.
. Coagulase-negative.**
. Often sensitive to ampicillin, cephalosporin
antibiotics and trimethoprim, resistant to mecillinam in vitro.
. Strains with variant patterns of resistance
should be further typed before identied as
S. saprophyticus.
*The DNase examination is recommended for screening of urine isolates; the latex agglutination examination is less appropriate because S. saprophyticus
often causes agglutination. Certain coagulase-negative
staphylococci form DNase. In practice, a colony is
subcultured to blood agar with a novobiocin disk and
to DNA agar.
**Tube coagulase examination with rabbit plasma is
the reference method and should be used if DNase or
the agglutination examination give inconclusive
results.

European Urinalysis Guidelines

2. S. aureus: Minimum criteria: Typical colony
morphology, catalase-positive, DNase-positive
or positive S. aureus agglutination examination.
. Colony morphology: larger colonies and
more uniform in size than coagulase-negative
staphylococci, often yellow pigment on CLEDand blood agar.
. Coagulase-positive (reference method).**
3. Additional coagulase-negative staphylococci
(CNS): Staphylococci that do not full the
criteria under numbers 1 or 2. White or
yellow colonies on CLED and blood.
Enterococcus spp. and Streptococci Grampositive cocci in chains, catalase-negative.
Enterococcus spp Minimum criteria: Typical
colony morphology, bile esculin positive, positive group D agglutination examination.
. Grows in broth with 6.5% NaCl.
. Grey-white colonies on blood agar can
have no haemolysis, alpha-haemolysis or betahaemolysis, usually yellow colonies on CLED.
. Arabinose fermentation can be used to
differentiate Enterococcus faecium (positive)
from Enterococcus faecalis (negative).
. Reduced sensitivity for cephalosporin antibiotics (useful in separating enterococci from
GBS (see below) if CAMP examination is the
routine procedure).
Group B streptococci (GBS). Minimum criteria:
Typical colony morphology, positive group B
agglutination examination or positive CAMP
examination.
. Small, uncoloured colonies on CLED, can
sometimes be seen after 2-day incubation. On
blood: blue/grey-white colonies with a narrow
zone of b-haemolysis, sometimes a-haemolysis
or no haemolysis.
. Sensitive to cephalosporin antibiotics.
Other b-haemolytic streptococci. Minimum
criteria: Typical colony morphology, b-haemolysis, positive agglutination examination for
each group, respectively.
. Often poor growth on CLED, b-haemolysis on blood.
a-streptococci. Minimum criteria: Typical
colony morphology, a-haemolysis, Gram-positive cocci in chains.

73

. Small or no colonies on CLED, a-hemolysis on blood.

. Optochin 14 mm.
Lactobacillus spp. Minimum criteria: Typical
colony morphology, Gram-positive rods with
typical appearance, catalase-negative.
. Small or no colonies on CLED, sometimes
lactose-positive.
. Often a-hemolysis on blood.
. Microscopy: Gram-positive (sometimes
Gram-labile) long or short, regular rods.
Bacillus spp. Minimum criteria: Typical colony
morphology, Gram-positive rods.
. Often large, dry colonies with haemolysis
on blood; can sometimes be confused with
Enterobacteriaceae or pseudomonas.
. Catalase-positive, positive/negative oxidase.
. Microscopy: regular, large, Gram-positive
or Gram-labile rods, sometimes with visible
spores.
Corynebacterium urealyticum. Minimum criteria: Typical colony appearance, Gram-positive rod, catalase-positive, quick ureasepositive reaction. When in doubt verify the
diagnosis with for example the API Coryne
database.
. Slow growth, small shiny colonies on blood
agar.
. Often very resistant to antibiotics.
``Diphtheroid'' rods. Minimum criteria: Typical
colony morphology, Gram-positive rods with
typical appearance
. Often weak growth on CLED.
. Microscopy: Gram-positive rods, often
conical, in ``V'' formations and palisades.
. Catalase-positive.
Corynebacterium urealyticum can be clinically
relevant. Perform an urease examination.
Note! The above criteria do not exclude
Listeria.
B. Gram-negative bacteria.
Enterobacteriaceae. The outline below is an
example of simple species identication of
urine isolates.
Basic criteria: Gram-negative rod, glucosefermentative, Kovacs oxidase-negative, good

74

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

growth on MacConkey agar. For details and

extensive species identication, see handbooks
for Enterobacteriaceae.
Minimum criteria: ``4 examination'': Lactose, Voges Proskauer (VP), ONPG, indole
examination with p-dimethylaminocinnamaldehyde (DMACA); alternatively, tube examination
with
p-dimetylaminobenzaldelyde
according to Kovacs or Ehrlich.
A. Lactose-positive growth on CLED
1. Colony appearance suggests E. coli:
. Perform indole examination from blood
agar.
. Positive indole ~ E. coli, negative indole
~ Gram-negative rod Enterobacteriaceae: perform VP.
positive VP, negative indole ~ Klebsiella/
Enterobacter.
negative VP, negative indole ~ Gram-negative rod Enterobacteriaceae.
2. Colony appearance suggests Klebsiella/
Enterobacter:
. Perform VP, indole examination.
. positive VP, positive/negative indole ~
Klebsiella/Enterobacter.
. negative VP, negative indole ~ Gramnegative rod Enterobacteriaceae.
. negative VP, positive indole ~ E. coli.
3. Positive beta-glucuronidase ~ E. coli.
B. Lactose-negative growth on CLED:
1. Swarming on blood agar:
. Perform indole only.
. Negative indole ~ Proteus mirabilis.
. Positive indole ~ Proteus vulgaris.
2. Additional lactose-negative:
. negative VP, positive ONPG, positive
indole ~ E. coli.
. negative VP and ONPG, perform extended
biochemistry.
. other combinations should be identied for
species.
3. Positive beta-glucuronidase ~ E. coli.
Non-glucose fermenting Gram-negative rods.
Basic criteria: Good growth on MacConkey
agar, Kovacs oxidase-positive (see the exception below), non-glucose fermentative (negative KIA/TSIA).
Genus/species diagnostics need only be routinely performed for Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Acinetobac-

ter. Other isolates can be reported as ``Gramnegative rod, non-Enterobacteriaceae''.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Minimum criteria:
1. Characteristic odour and appearance (greenbrown pigment, strawberry or ``fruity''
odour) can be directly reported; Kovacs
oxidase-positive.
2. ADH-positive, growth at 42C.
When non-glucose fermenting Gram-negative
rods are examined for decarboxylase, it is
appropriate to have both positive and negative
controls because of the difculty of interpreting
the examination results. P. aeruginosa is ADHpositive and LDC-negative.
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Minimum criteria: Typical colony appearance after 2 days,
non-fermentative, oxidase-negative, DNasepositive.
. Characteristic appearance, ammonia odour
when grown on blood agar.
. Microscopy: Gram-negative, narrow rods.
Acinetobacter. Minimum criteria: Typical
colony appearance, non-fermentative, oxidasenegative.
. DNase-negative,
microscopy,
Gramnegative coccoid rod.
Yeast. Minimum criteria: Typical colony
appearance, microscopy: fungi.
. Convex, dry colonies with even edges (after
longer incubation times, sometimes starshaped), yeast odour in heavy growth.
. Microscopy: Gram-positive, large, oval
cells, sometimes with budding.
. Positive serum examination ~ C. albicans.
. Negative serum examination ~ unspecied
yeast.
Further typing is justied when Cryptococcus
neoformans or other clinically relevant yeast
infections are suspected.
Methods used in identication. The recommended methods are given in Table XXXVI.
13.5. Microscopy methods in microbiology
13.5.1. Slide centrifugation technique (Level 3).
The reference describes the method in more
detail [173]. The disadvantage of this robust

European Urinalysis Guidelines

75

and consistent method is that it is labourintensive and therefore recommended for

evaluation purposes only.
Procedure:
1. 200 mL of well-mixed specimen is pipetted
into a slide centrifuge chamber and centrifuged at 20006g for 5 min.
2. Beginning from the centre of the spot, 12
consecutive elds are scanned under oil
immersion from each specimen (see suggested pattern in Fig. 7).
3. Results are graded as shown in Table
XXXVII.
13.5.2. Gram-staining procedure (Level 2).
Procedure of Gram-staining
Fixation
Resuspend urine thoroughly, or use a sample
from bacterial culture. Take 1 drop of the urine

FIG. 7. Suggested pattern for examination of 12

oil-imersion elds.

and smear across a slide to an area of

approximately 1 cm62 cm. Allow slide to air
dry. Fix in a ame. Alternatively, x by
applying some drops of methanol on microscope slide and leave for 2 min. Then let the
excess methanol evaporate and allow the specimen to dry again.

TABLE XXXVI. Identication methods for uropathogenic bacteria.1.

Examination

ASM 5th Ed

CAMP test
DNase test
Bile esculin
Gram-staining
KIA (Kligler Iron Agar)
NaCl-broth
TSIA (Triple Sugar Iron Agar)
Indole test, tube, Kovacs2
Indole test, tube, Ehrlich2
Indole spot test2
Catalase test
Coagulase test, tube
Optochin test
Oxidase test, Kovacs
Serum test
Voges-Proskauer test

250
1243
1230
1306
1255
1273
1279
1295
1294
1290
1292
249, 1222
1295
620
1302

ASM 6th Ed

ASM 7th Ed

303

287

303

298, 1690
1677

308 11

298
1668
1668
1668
1666
1666
288
1670
1189
1672

288 9
303
727 8

1
Page numbers refer to the American Society for Microbiology's Manual of Clinical Microbiology, 5th edition,
1991 (308), 6th edition, 1995 (309) and 7th edition, 1999 (310).
2
For the indole examination, L-tryptophan must be added to the blood agar (appropriate amount is 10 ml 1%
L-tryptophan mixture to one litre blood agar base). The indole examination should be performed with DMACA
reagent (p-dimethylamino-cinnamaldehyde) since this is the most sensitive method. For a discussion about the
indole examination in tube, see also: GI Barrow and RKA Feltham's Manual for the Identication of Medical
Bacteria (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990: 36).

TABLE XXXVII. Suggested grading system for bacteria detected by the slide centrifuge method.
Grade
Observation

Negat

Few

Moderate

Abundant

No bacteria
in any eld

Same morphological
type in v6 elds

Same morphological
type in 6 elds

w100 organisms
in all 12 elds

76

ECLM European Urinalysis Group

Reagents

Crystal violet, stock solution 100 g in 750 mL 96%

ethanol (Inammable!).
Ammonium
monohydrate).

oxalate

1%

(di-ammonium

oxalate

Using solution: 100 mL crystal violet stock solution

500 mL ammonium oxalate solution
400 mL water (laboratory grade)
Filter when prepared, store at z20C.
Lugol's using solution:
Iodine crystals, purissimum
KI (potassium iodide, pro analyse)
Water

1 g
2 g
300 mL

Dissolve iodine crystals and potassium iodide in

water. Do not autoclave. Store in a dark bottle at
z20C.
Destaining solution:
Acetone, purissimum
Ethanol (96%)

20 mL
80 mL

Store at z20C. Very inammable!!

Counter stain solution:
Carbol fuchsin,
stock solution:

Basic fuchsin
Ethanol 90%
Phenol 90%
Water

8
92
50
ad

g
g
g
1000 g

Will keep for 3 years.

Using solution:

Stock solution
Water

10 mL
90 mL

Store at z20C.

Staining.
Apply crystal violet to the specimen. Leave for
30 sec.
Pour the stain away, rinse with Lugol's solution,
and apply Lugol's solution for 60 sec.
Destain with acetone-ethanol until all stain is
removed.

Counter stain with carbol fuchsin for 15 sec.

Rinse carefully under tap water.
Dry in an upright position or use a
commercial drying device.
Examination. Examine under oil with a 6100
objective (magnication 61000 with 610 oculars).
Gram-positive organisms look blue or
violet, Gram-negative stain red. Interpretation of
Gram characteristics needs experience, and is not
recommended for occasional observers.
Examine a minimum of ve elds and record
the average presence of elements per eld in
accordance with Table XXXVIII.
13.5.3. Microtitre tray method (Level 1). A
xed volume of urine is placed in a well of a
96 well at-bottom microtitre plate and
allowed to settle for 5 min. The well is then
examined using an inverted microscope. The
presence or absence of white cells, bacteria
and red cells is noted on an ordinal scale. The
technique requires operator training, as differentiating (e.g.) cocci from debris may be difcult. Disposable plastic 96 well plates may not
be available to all laboratories; however, it is
perfectly possible to cold disinfect, wash and
thoroughly dry plastic plates and re-use them.
The method can also be used to detect the
presence of yeasts, which may have pathogenic signicance, as well for detecting pathogens such as S. haematobium, whether this is
suspected or not.
NOTE: This method is used for detecting
clear-cut infected urines in order to facilitate
workup in a microbiological laboratory. It is
NOT intended as a proper urine particle
analysis.
Procedure
1. Gently invert the primary urine container.
Pipette 60 mL of urine into a well, noting the
coordinates of the well.

TABLE XXXVIII. Grades of bacterial concentrations in Gram staining.

Grade

Negat

1z

2z

3z

Bacteria/OIF*

Any seen

1/OIF

1 to 5/OIF

w5/OIF

* OIF~Oil Immersion Field.

European Urinalysis Guidelines

77

TABLE XXXIX. Suggested system for grading urine in microtitre tray method.
Grade

Negat

1z

2z

3z

Leukocytes/HPF
Red cells/HPF
% HPF obscured by bacteria

1 to 10
1 to 10
v10%

11 to 50
11 to 50
10 30%

50 200
50 200
30 60%

w200
w200
w60% conuent

2. Allow the formed elements to settle for a

minimum of 5 min.
3. Place the plate on the microscope and
examine the bottom of the well using a
620 objective and medium light intensity to
maximize detection of bacteria.
4. Note the presence of leukocytes and red cells

in one representative eld after establishing

that elements are evenly distributed across
the well bottom.
5. Note the presence of bacteria, and estimate
the High Power Field (HPF) area that is
covered by them in accordance with Table
XXXIX.

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301

302

303

304

305
306

307

308

309
310

severe disease of the excretory urinary system.

Nephrol Dial Transplant 1995; 10: 1918 9.
Kopp JB, Miller KD, Mican JAM, et al.
Crystalluria and urinary tract abnormalities
associated with indinavir. Ann Intern Med
1997; 127: 119 25.
Stansfeld JM, Webb JKG. Observations on
pyuria in children. Arch Dis Child 1953; 28:
386 91.
Loh EH, Keng VW, Ward PB. Blood cells and
red cell morphology in the urine of healthy
children. Clin Nephrol 1990; 34: 185 7.
Fairley KF, Birch DF. Microscopic urinalysis in
glomerulonephritis. Kidney Int 1993; 44 Suppl
42: S9 12.
Addis T. The number of formed elements in the
urinary sediment of normal individuals. J Clin
Invest 1926; 2: 409 15.
Gyory AZ, Kesson AM, Talbot JM. Microscopy
of urine now you see it, now you don't. Am
Heart J 1980; 99: 537 8.
Lun A, Ziebig R, Hammer H, Otting U, et al.
Reference values for neonates and children for
the UF-100 urine ow cytometer. Clin Chem
1999; 45: 1879 80.
Joho KL, Soliman H, Weinstein MP. Comparison of one day versus two-day incubation of
urine cultures. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 1995;
21: 55 6.
Murray P, Traynor P, Hopson D. Evaluation of
microbiological processing of urine specimens:
comparison of overnight versus two day incubation. J Clin Microbiol 1992; 30: 1600 1.
Munos P, Cercenado E, Rodrguez-Creixems M,
Daz MD, et al. The CLED agar option in urine
culture routine. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 1992;
15: 287 90.
Navarro F, Fuentes I, Izquierdo C, Sanchez F, et
al. Evaluation of chromogenic medium CPS ID2
(bioMerieux) in urine cultures. Enfermedades
Infecciosas y Microbiologia Clinica 1996; 14:
215 9. [in Spanish].
Reisner BS, Austin EF. Evaluation of CPS ID 2
chromogenic agar as a single medium for urine
culture.DiagnMicrobiolInfectDis1997;28:113 7.
Samra Z, Heifetz M, Talmor J, Bain E, et al.
Evaluation of use of a new chromogenic agar in
detection of urinary tract pathogens. J Clin
Microbiol 1998; 36: 990 4.
Willinger B, Mana M. Evaluation of a new
chromogenic agar medium for the identication
of urinary tract pathogens. Lett Appl Microbiol
1995; 20: 300 2.
Balows A, editor. American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Manual of clinical microbiology,
5th ed. Washington, DC: American Society for
Microbiology; 1991.
Murray PR, editor. American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Manual of clinical microbiology,
6th ed. Washington, DC: ASM Press; 1995.
Murray PR, editor. American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Manual of clinical microbiology,
7th ed. Washington, DC: ASM Press; 1999.

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INDEX
Acanthocytes
criteria 64
signicance 21
Accreditation 40
Accuracy, VIM denition 40
Albumin
in strategy 35
in test strips 16
measurement detail 59
quantitative measurement 18
reference interval 58
Alpha-1 microglobulin
in strategy 39
measurement detail 60
quantitative, in tubular disease 19
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing 32
Antimicrobials in urine 33
Appearance See Visual inspection
Ascorbic acid 17
Asymptomatic bacteriuria
detection by rapid methods 34
strategies 38
Bacteria
classication by uropathogenicity 27
counting 23
detection based on nitrite 15
detection by microscopy 22
detection by rapid methods 34
Gram staining 24
identication detail 72
identication tests 75
of the urinary tract 27
principles of rapid methods 34
units of bacterial concentrations 28
Bacterial cultures 30
automation 34
comparison method 31
control strains 71
dipslide 32
dipslides, detail 71
enrichment cultures 32
reduction strategy 37
routine loop culture, detail 70
routine plates 31
Bacteriuria
clinical signicance limits 28
decision limits for laboratories 29
detection by multiple strips 15
presentations for rapid examinations 26
signicance of low concentrations 28

Bag urine 10
Basic and advanced levels
in particle analysis 22
Bile pigments 17
Body posture 8
Casts
criteria 65
signicance 22
Chamber counting of uncentrifuged specimens
24
Chemistry
quantitative 18
quantitative measurement detail 58
CHEMISTRY EXAMINATIONS 12
Collection containers 10
COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS 9
Comparison method
for bacterial culture 31
for microscopy 23
for particle counting, detail 61
for test strips 53
for urine bacterial culture, detail 68
Computers 49
Conductivity 19
measurement detail 60
Containers 10
sterility 10
Contamination
by commensal bacteria 9
by secretions from sexual organs 9
Control strains 71
Counting
bacteria 23
comparison method for particles 23
uncentrifuged specimens 24
Creatinine
in test strips 16
quantitative measurement 19
quantitative measurement detail 60
Crystals
criteria 65
signicance 22
Cystinuria 22
Density See Relative volumic mass
Dipsticks See Test strips
Diuresis See Volume rate
Dysmorphic red blood cells
criteria 64
signicance 20
Education, in quality manual 41

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Electrophoresis 20
Eosinophil granulocytes
signicance 20
Epithelial cells 21
Erythrocytes
criteria 64
detection by test strips 15
in particle analysis 20
signicance 20
Esterase 13
Exercise 8
First morning urine 7
First-void urine 9
Glucose, detection by test strips 17
Good Laboratory Practice
in microbiology 45
in quality systems 40
Gram staining
detail 75
general 24
Haematuria See also Erythrocytes
strategies 35
Hierarchy of methods
bacterial culture 30
general 12
microscopy 23
Identication of bacteria
detail, Level 2, 72
Immunoxation 20
Incubation time, in the bladder 8
Indications
for bacterial culture 27
for microbiology investigations 26
for urinalysis 6
Indwelling catheter urine 9
Inuence and interference factors 8
Information
preanalytical 8
request and report detail 48
role of computers 49
Instruments
automated bacterial culture 34
evaluation 47
for multiple test strips 17
particle analysis 25
Kappa coefcient 55
Kass's criteria 28
Ketone bodies 17
Label 11
Leukocytes
criteria 64
detection based on esterase 13
signicance 20

Lipids
criteria 65
signicance 22
Lymphocytes
criteria 64
signicance 20
Macrophages
criteria 64
signicance 20
Meares and Stamey procedure
detail 51
MEDICAL NEEDS 6
Microbes
as detected by microscopy 22
microbiological classication 26
morphologic criteria 66
uropathogenicity 27
Microbiology examinations
detail 68
MICROBIOLOGY EXAMINATIONS 26
Microscopy See also Particle analysis
detail 61
different techniques 23
in microbiology, detail 74
microtitre tray method 25
procedure for routine work 62
rapid methods 25
Microtitre tray method 25
detail 76
Mid-stream urine
denition 9
specimen collection 50
Mixed culture 29
Morphologic criteria for urine particles 64
Nitrite 15
Non-standardised urine sediment 25
Odour
general 13
metabolic diseases 15
Osmolality
measurement detail 60
signicance 19
Particle analysis
clinical signicance 20
criteria for ndings 64
detail 61
operating procedures for automated analysis
66
standardized sediment procedure 62
upper reference limits 66
PARTICLE ANALYSIS 20
Particles
counting after ltration 24

European Urinalysis Guidelines

identication methods 23
instrumental analysis 25
levels of differentiation 22
PATIENT PREPARATION 7
pH 17
Precision
quantitative chemistry 44
test strips 43
Pregnancy tests
examination detail 61
general 18
Preservation
detail 51
signicance 11
Procedures of urine collection 9
Proteins
in test strips 16
quantitative 18
reference intervals 58
Proteinuria
classication based on proteinuria 58
classication of causes 16
Pseudoperoxidase 15
Quality assurance
in quality manual 41
QUALITY ASSURANCE 39
Quality manual 40
Quality specications
bacterial cultures 45
microscopy in microbiology 47
particle analysis 44
quantitative chemistry 44
test strips 42
urine proteins 44
urine sediment 45
Quality systems 40
Quantitative urine protein measurements
detail 58
Random urine 7
Rapid examinations
chemistry 13
clinical presentations of bacteriuria 35
for pregnancy 18
Reference intervals
urine particles 68
urine proteins 58
Regulations
containers and in vitro medical devices
directive 10
instruments and in vitro medical devices
directive 47
Relative density See Relative volumic
mass

89

Relative volumic mass

in test strips 16
measurement detail 61
quantitative measurement 19
Renal disease
glomerular 18
tubular 19
Renal stones
diagnosis 20
in particle analysis 22
Renal tubular epithelial cells
criteria 64
signicance 21
Report
format 49
general 6
in quality manual 42
Request 48
general 6
in quality manual 41
information on antimicrobial therapy 33
recommended detail 48
sieving principle 48
Safety, in quality manual 41
Second morning urine 7
Sexual intercourse 9
Single catheter urine 9
Slide centrifugation technique
detail 74
general 23
Specic gravity See Relative volumic mass
Specimens
denitions based on timing 7
detail of suprapubic aspiration 51
detailed instructions 50
for localisation of urinary tract infection 10
instructions for mid-stream urine collection
50
Meares and Stamey procedure 51
procedures of collection 9
Squamous epithelial cells
criteria 65
signicance 21
Standardised urine sediment
detail 62
general 23
STEPWISE STRATEGIES 34
Storage 11
Strategies
detection of haematuria in general patient
populations 35
detection of proteinuria, general patient
populations 35

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detection of renal disease in specic

populations 39
detection of urinary tract infection in general
patient populations 35
detection of urinary tract infection, specic
populations 37
for general patient populations 34
sieving principle in requests 48
Suprapubic aspiration urine 9
Test strips See also Rapid examinations
calculation of trueness 53
detailed principles 54
detection and conrmation limits 42, 53
principles 14, 54
reading procedures 56
repeatability limits 56
Timed collection of urine
denition 7
detail 51
Total protein
measurement detail 58
Transitional epithelial (Urothelial) cells
criteria 64
signicance 21

Transport 11
Trueness
particle analysis 45
quantitative chemistry 44
test strips 42
Turnaround times
in bacterial culture 47
Urinary tract infection
detection in high-risk patients 37
detection in symptomatic low-risk patients 37
specic populations 37
Urine particles
table of criteria for cells 67
table of criteria for other particles 67
Urine sediment in chamber 24
Urostomy 10
VIM (international vocabulary of metrological
terms) 40
Visual inspection 13
Visual microscopy 23
Volume rate
quantities used for measurement 19
signicance 8

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FIG. 1. Collection of mid-stream urine by females (1a) and males (1b) by washing genital organs with a
shower. (Published with the permission of Tampere University Hospital.).

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FIG. 2. Collection of mid-stream urine by females (2a) and males (2b) by washing genital organs with a
towelette. (Published with the permission of Tampere University Hospital.).

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95

FIG. 3. Collection of mid-stream urine specimen when using a potty chair. (Published with the permission of
Tampere University Hospital.).

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FIG. 4. Specimen collection by suprapubic aspiration. (Published with the permission of Tampere University
Hospital.) Aseptic measures should be taken to avoid skin contamination. Specimen collection and washing
tools should be prepared ahead, including a 5 (210) mL syringe used for aspiration. It is possible to wait up
to 2 h for the bladder to ll. However, the urgency symptoms may lead to loss of the specimen by spontaneous voiding if not followed carefully. Dehydrated febrile children should take in uid to the extent needed
to start diuresis. Anaesthetic skin cream containing lidocain or prilocain is recommended before the puncture.
The bladder is punctured by simultaneous aspiration. The site is chosen to avoid both periosteal damage
(1 cm distant from the symphyseal region) and intestinal contamination. Aliquots of urine to different laboratory tests need a local agreement. For bacterial culture, 0.5 2 mL is usually sufcient for inoculation.