Evaluation of the Sysmex UF-100 urine cell analyzer as a screening test to reduce the need for urine cultures for community-acquired urinary tract infection.

We evaluated the UF-100 flow cytometer (TOA Medical Electronics, Kobe, Japan) as a screening test for community-acquired urinary tract infection (UTI) to reduce the need for bacterial cultures. By comparing the test results for 330 urine samples with quantitative urine cultures, we established cutoff criteria for the UF-100. To rule out hospital-acquired UTI, all urine samples were from new patients who had not been admitted to a hospital within the previous month. Abacterial cutoff value of 3,000/microL provided the best discrimination for community-acquired UTI, with a sensitivity of 94.4% and a specificity of 73.4%compared with urine culture. It was possible to forgo 58.2% of cultures with only 4 false-negative results. With a bacterial cutoff value of 1,500/microL, the sensitivity improved to 100%, but the specificity declined to 49.8%, and only 38.5% of cultures could be avoided without any false-negative results. Screening with the UF-100 for community-acquired UTI is acceptable for routine use. It would improve the efficiency of the routine microbiology laboratory, and unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions could be reduced.