[URISCAM project: Multicenter evaluation of the UF-Series cytometer in the urinary tract infections screening]. / Proyecto URISCAM: Evaluación multicéntrica del citómetro UF-Series en el despistaje de infecciones urinarias.

OBJECTIVE: Urine culture, the gold standard to confirm the presence of urinary tract infection (UTI), is the most requested assay in the microbiology department. Our objective was to determine the diagnostic yield of the UF-Series cytometer as a screening method for UTI. METHODS: All the urine samples sent to the six Microbiology Laboratories participating in a period of 5 working days were analyzed. We collected demographic variables, apart from those variables related to urine samples: source and sample type (midstream, catheterized or nephrostomy urines), collection with/without boric acid, cytometer parameters (leukocyturia, bacteriuria, bacteria morphology and epithelial cells) and urine culture results. ROC curves were plotted to determine predictive capacity of the cytometer. RESULTS: A sample of 2,468 patients with average age of 53 years were processed (ratio women:men 2:1). Urine culture detected 23% of positive urine samples. The predictor variables of UTI were: morphology of bacilli, bacteriuria ≥21 bacteria/µL, age ≥65 years, samples collected in the emergency service and hospitalization and preserving conditions. With 21 bacteria/µL as a cut-off point, we obtained a sensitivity of 93.3% and 94.5% negative predictive value, then reducing the samples to be cultured by 28.9% with 1.6% false negatives. CONCLUSIONS: We consider that the UF-Series is a valid and accurate tool for the detection of UTI. Therefore, it could be used as screening method in the clinical practice prior to the urine culture, reducing culture requirement by approximately 30%, with a low false negative rate.

Sysmex UF-1000i flow cytometer to screen urinary tract infections: the URISCAM multicentre study.

The new Sysmex UF-1000i analyzer - which incorporates bacteria morphology distinction - allows to automatically screen samples to be cultured at microbiology laboratories. We have evaluated the feasibility and accuracy of Sysmex UF-1000i to screen urinary tract infections (UTIs). A total amount of 2468 urine samples from six Spanish hospitals were analysed. Demographic and clinical data such as age, gender, source and sample type, preserving conditions, cytometer parameters (bacteria, leucocytes and bacteria morphology) as well as urine culture results (gold standard) were recorded. After applying data mining techniques, the variables of age, bacteria count and rod morphology were defined as predictive variables of UTIs. By using the UF-1000i in combination with a predictive algorithm of three decision rules, we could identify 94·9 and 47·4% positive and negative urine samples, respectively, with a negative predictive value of 97 and only 1·17% diagnostic error. This error was reduced down to 0·4% when contaminated samples were excluded. Our results show that flow cytometry parameters together with age, by means of a predictive algorithm model, can be used to screen UTIs. Its implementation would avoid culturing 38% of urine samples, and therefore, would reduce time to diagnosis with a discrete false negative ratio. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Fluorescent flow cytometry performance has recently spread for urine screening. However, controversy about cytometer results can be drawn from medical literature. This study shows the diagnosis accuracy of Sysmex UF-1000i analyzer by means of a group of decision rules encompassing both demographic variables (age) and cytometer parameters (bacteria, leucocytes and bacteria morphology). After applying the predictive algorithm, the UF-1000i could optimally identify 95% urinary tract infections with high negative predictive value and low diagnostic error. Implementation of UF-1000i would avoid culturing almost 38% of urine samples, thus reducing time to diagnosis, unnecessary antibiotic treatments and consequently improving cost-effectiveness.

Serum lipid responses to phytosterol-enriched milk in a moderate hypercholesterolemic population is not affected by apolipoprotein E polymorphism or diameter of low-density lipoprotein particles.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The importance of both low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) size and the apolipoprotein E (Apo E) in the atherogenic process is known, but there is little information with regard to the effect of phytosterols (PS) on these parameters. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of PS on lipid profile and LDLc size according to Apo E genotype. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a randomized parallel trial employing 75 mild-hypercholesterolemic subjects and consisting of two 3-month intervention phases. After 3 months of receiving a standard healthy diet, subjects were divided into two intervention groups: a diet group (n=34) and a diet+PS group (n=41) that received 2 g/day of PS. Total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerols, LDLc, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), non-HDLc, Apo A-I and B-100, LDLc size and Apo E genotype were determined. RESULTS: Patients receiving PS exhibited a significant decrease in TC (5.1%), LDLc (8.1%), non-HDLc (7.4%) and Apo B-100/Apo A-I ratio (7.7%), but these effects did not depend on Apo E genotype. No significant changes were found in lipid profile according to Apo E genotype when patients following dietary recommendations were considered as a whole population or separately. No variations in LDLc size were observed in any of the intervention groups. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that Apo E genotype does not have an impact on the lipid response to PS as a cholesterol-lowering agent in mild-hypercholesterolemic patients. Furthermore, the evidence obtained confirms that LDLc particle size is not modified when PS are added to a standard healthy diet.