Interrater agreement in the interpretation of microscopic urinalysis
W. J. Hueston, S. Fields, R. R. McClaflin and G. Eilers
Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, USA.
To determine the reliability of specimen interpretation by outpatient
laboratories, 150 consecutive specimens from three family practice centers
were analyzed by either two laboratory technicians (n = 99) or two family
physicians (n = 51). The results showed good to excellent agreement for
contamination (defined as five or more epithelial cells per high-power
field) or significant pyuria (five or more white blood cells per high-power
field) or hematuria (five or more red blood cells per high-power field).
Agreement between laboratory technicians did not differ significantly from
agreement between physicians for the interpretation of contamination or
pyuria, but for hematuria, agreement was higher between technicians (P =
.02). These results suggest that outpatient interpretation of microscopic
urine specimens shows levels of interrater agreement similar to or better
than other tests that have been evaluated.
