Automated bacteriuria screening using the Berthold LB 950 luminescence analyser.

The Berthold LB950 Automatic Luminescence Analyser was used to estimate bacterial adenosine triphosphate in urine. The system provided a rapid (15 min) and fully automated screening test for bacteriuria at the 10(5) CFU/ml level. Bioluminescence results for 1040 urines were compared with viable counts using two reference culture methods and frequency distributions of bacterial counts and adenosine triphosphate levels were calculated. With a specificity of 79% the automated method showed a sensitivity of 84% using a pour plate reference count and 91% using a standard loop reference count. When contaminated urines were excluded the sensitivity improved to 98%. The automated bioluminescence test, though expensive, was shown to work well with good quality specimens.