Correlation of Urine Dipstick test to Serum Creatinine in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Early identification of patients who are at high risk of developing Acute Kidney Injury and Chronic Kidney Disease is beneficial. Serum Creatinine measurement is routinely recommended to detect renal dysfunction. Urine dipstick analysis aids in detection of elevated serum Creatinine. This prospective study determines whether urine dipstick screening analysis can reliably detect urine abnormalities and correlate with an elevation in serum Creatinine > 1.2 mg/dL amongst patients in the Emergency Department. Data was collected from 100 patients coming to the Emergency Department of a tertiary care center located in Salem, Tamil Nadu India. Abnormal elevated serum Creatinine values were found in 39 patients with a significant relationship between gender and presence of high serum Creatinine. This study demonstrated that dipstick proteinuria correlates directly with elevated serum Creatinine > 1.2 mg/dL having high sensitivity but with low specificity in undifferentiated Emergency Department patients. Highly significant association was observed between abnormal serum Creatinine and dipstick glucose. Urine dipstick test was seen to be sensitive but less specific in detecting Diabetic Ketoacidosis. No significant correlation was found between serum Creatinine and Urinary dipstick ketones, Specific Gravity and pH.