Can community-dwelling women reliably identify infected urine?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether community-dwelling women can reliably identify infected urine samples. A convenience sample of 25 women judged six urine samples. Of these, two were normal, two contained culture-proven infections, and two were intentionally abnormal because of ingestion of asparagus or vitamins. The women decided if each sample was infected based on its color, clarity, and odor. For the two normal samples, 56 and 96% women correctly identified them. Of the two samples positive for infection, women were correct 80 and 100% of the time. Of the two samples designed to be abnormal, women were correct in 92 and 64% of their evaluations. Using the 150 total evaluations of urine samples, the sensitivity was 90%, and the specificity was 77%. Based on this small sample, community-dwelling women can detect infected samples of urine. However, women should still be screened for factors that might have distorted normal urine.