Background: We wanted to determine the usefulness of chemical dipstick tests and office culture in diagnosing asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women in general practice.
Material and methods: Dipstick and office urine culture were compared with standard culture results from a microbiology laboratory. The comparison was based on 294 urine samples obtained from pregnant women in a standard general practice setting.
Results: Asymptomatic bacteriuria was found in 16 out of 294 urine samples. The sensitivity of dipstick tests was less than 30%. The positive predictive value was 100% for the nitrite test and 40% for office culture.
Interpretation: Standard urine culture is the only way to diagnose asymptomatic bacteriuria.