Introduction and aim of the study - Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are a common disorder in the dog and cat and urinary culture is considered the “gold standard” for the final diagnosis. However, urine sediment cytology may give useful preliminary information. In this study we retrospectively evaluated the accuracy of cytology for the identification of bacteriuria and the agreement between cytology and bacteriology in identifying infections caused by cocci, rods and mixed bacteria.
Materials and methods - In this retrospective study we compared urine sediment bacteriology and cytology.
Results - A total of 148 urinary samples were included, 109 from dogs and 39 from cats. 69 of 148 (47%) were positive on microbiology (50 from dogs and 19 from cats). Sensitivity of cytology for bacteriuria was respectively 78.3% (total cases), 82% (dogs) and 68.4% (cats); specificity was 93.7% (total cases), 93.2% (dogs) and 95% (cats). Overall accuracy was 86.5% (total cases), 88% (dogs) e 82% (cats). The positive predictive value was 90.6% (total cases), 90.0% (dogs) and 92.2% (cats). The negative predictive value was 83.1% (total cases), 85.9% (dogs) and 76% (cats).
Discussion - In the study, urine sediment cytology was easily performed and showed a good overall accuracy. The agreement with urinary culture was good.