The feasibility of screening preschool children for urinary tract infection using dipslides.

Preschool children were screened for urinary tract infection (UTI) using Oxoid dipslides. A colony count of greater than 10(5) per ml was obtained from 64 out of 566 boys, and 58 out of 446 girls. A diagnosis of UTI was established in 3 boys, all aged 6 months or less, and 5 girls. No child was found to have either vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR) or renal scarring. False positive results were obtained in 15-17% of male and female infants and were attributable to the obligatory use of bag urine collection. These high rates preclude the use of this method in identifying UTI in preschool children on a wide scale.