Urine
Urine screening
Laboratory screening of ten urine parameters, including protein, glucose, blood cells, nitrite, pH and specific gravity. You collect the sample at home.
€ 35,00
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Urine tests · Urine
Nitrite
Nitrite in the urine; produced by certain bacteria and a strong sign of bacteria in the urinary tract.
At a glance
- Measured in urine
- In 1 test panel
- Check the preparation
Explanation
Nitrite: what is measured?
Many bacteria that cause a urinary tract infection, such as E. coli, convert nitrate from food into nitrite. The pad on the dipstick changes color when there is nitrite in the urine. For this, the urine must have been in the bladder for a few hours, so that the bacteria have time for this conversion.
What can it detect?
- A urinary tract infection caused by bacteria that make nitrite, such as E. coli
- Bacteria in the urine without symptoms (asymptomatic bacteriuria)
Result
What does the result mean?
Positive result
A positive result is a strong sign of bacteria in the urine. With symptoms such as frequent and painful urination, this fits a bladder infection. Without symptoms, it is often bacteria in the urine without an infection (asymptomatic bacteriuria), which usually does not need treatment outside pregnancy. A false positive result occurs when the urine has been standing at room temperature for a long time, so that bacteria grow in the container.
Negative result
A negative result does not rule out a urinary tract infection. Not all bacteria make nitrite (enterococci and staphylococci, for example, do not), the urine has sometimes not been in the bladder long enough, and eating few vegetables, drinking a lot and vitamin C can give a false negative result.
After an abnormal result
According to the Dutch GP guideline (NHG) on urinary tract infections, a positive nitrite test with matching symptoms is enough to diagnose a urinary tract infection. With a negative nitrite test and symptoms, the GP looks at leukocytes and blood and does a dipslide, culture or sediment test if needed. With a positive result without symptoms, there is usually no treatment outside pregnancy.
Reliability
How reliable is the test?
A urine dipstick is a quick screening and not a diagnosis. According to the Dutch GP guideline (NHG) on urinary tract infections, the dipstick is a first step with symptoms that fit a bladder infection; if in doubt, a culture or sediment test follows. For detecting kidney damage, the dipstick is less sensitive than the albumin-creatinine ratio in urine and the eGFR in blood; the NHG guideline on chronic kidney damage is based on those. In people without symptoms, most abnormal dipstick results are temporary or harmless; a single abnormal result therefore says little.
What can affect the result?
- Sample collection: preferably use first morning urine or urine that has been in the bladder for at least 4 hours, and after washing, catch the middle part of the stream (midstream), so that no discharge or skin bacteria get into it.
- Menstruation, and the days before and after it, often gives a positive result for blood and sometimes for leukocytes and protein; it is better to collect at another time.
- Vitamin C (supplements or a lot of fruit juice) can suppress the reaction for blood, glucose, nitrite and bilirubin and give a false negative result.
- Heavy exercise, fever and dehydration in the day before sample collection can temporarily cause protein, blood or ketones. Urine that has been standing for a long time or has become warm gives less reliable results, especially for nitrite, bilirubin, urobilinogen and pH.
Preparation
- Preferably use the first morning urine, or urine that has been in your bladder for at least 4 hours.
- Collect the middle part of the stream.
- Do not collect urine during your period.
Who it is for
Who is the test useful for?
Useful for
Useful with symptoms that may fit a bladder infection, such as frequent and painful urination, or as a simple addition to blood tests for the kidneys, sugar or liver. For detecting kidney damage in diabetes or high blood pressure, the albumin-creatinine ratio in urine says more than the dipstick. In people without symptoms and without risk factors, the chance of a harmless abnormality is greater than the chance of a real condition.
How common is it?
Bladder infection is one of the most common infections in women; in men it is much less common. Chronic kidney damage occurs in about 1 in 10 adults, usually without symptoms. In people without symptoms, an abnormality on the dipstick is found in some, usually without a serious cause.
NHG guideline on urinary tract infections; NHG guideline on chronic kidney damage
Get tested
Nitrite: test panels
Nitrite is part of these test panels. You order online and have your blood drawn at a collection point or collect the sample at home.
Evidence
Sources
This explanation is based on Dutch guidelines and independent information. It is general information, not a diagnosis. Discuss an abnormal result with your GP.
More about risks and resultsMore explanations
Other tests: Urine tests
- Bilirubin
- Erythrocytes and free hemoglobin
- Glucose
- Ketones
- Leukocytes
- pH
- Protein
- Specific gravity
- Urobilinogen