Abstract
ObjectivesMicroscopic examination is essential in urine analysis. This is a simple way to collect informative data but it is also labor-intensive, time-consuming, and requires experienced staff for accurate results and interpretation. Several automated urine analyzers have been introduced for urine analysis in medical laboratories. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the performance of the most common three automated urine analyzers, Cobas 6500, UN3000-111b and iRICELL 3000. MethodsA total of 100 routine urine samples were used in the study. Results from the three machines were compared with the routine procedure results including physical, chemical and sediment analysis. ResultsThere was good correlation of urine physical and chemical analyses between the three analyzers with an overall concordance level of more than 80%. For sediment analysis, the degree of concordance between manual analysis and the three instruments was very good to good for white blood cells, red blood cells and epithelial cells, and moderate for bacteria. There were fair to good agreements between manual microscopy and the three instruments, Cobas 6500, UN3000-111b and iRICELL 3000, for casts (Cohen’s kappa 0.42, 0.38 and 0.62, respectively). ConclusionsThe three automated urine analyzers showed similar performances and good correlation with manual microscopy. The results of this study indicate that automated urine analyzers could be used for initial urine testing to reduce high workloads and to save time, but manual microscopic analysis by experienced staff is still necessary to classify urine sediments for confirmation, especially in pathologic specimens.
Highlights
Urinalysis is an essential screening test in clinical laboratories in order to diagnose and plan treatment for urinary tract infections, kidney disease and diabetes
Within-run and between-run precision of the three automated urine analyzers for red blood cells (RBCs) and white blood cells (WBCs) were acceptable at all levels (CV < 30%)
The strip tests of the three automated urine analyzers, Cobas 6500, UN3000-111b (UC-3500) and iRICELL 3000, showed a concordance level of more than 80% within one grading difference of all parameter determinations
Summary
Urinalysis is an essential screening test in clinical laboratories in order to diagnose and plan treatment for urinary tract infections, kidney disease and diabetes. The first step includes visual inspection and a dipstick test, and the second step is Practical Laboratory Medicine 24 (2021) e00203 microscopic examination of the urine specimen sediment to look for erythrocyturia, leukocyturia, bacteriuria or proteinuria. Manual microscopic techniques are standardized, the traditional microscopic examination of the urinary sediment is labor intensive, time consuming, imprecise, inaccurate and has wide interobserver variability. Automatic urine analyzers for high-volume laboratory settings were developed in order to improve the certainty of quality measurements and save labor and time [3]. Several manufacturers have developed automated urine analyzers which integrate and perform all urinalysis components for use in clinical laboratories. The first type is an image-based microscopic urine sediment analysis that uses a video camera to capture and sort particles according to preset particle dimensions, and the second is based on the principle of flow cytometry
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
