Nitrates and nitrites are both forms of nitrogen. They have different chemical structures nitrates have three oxygen atoms, while nitrites have two. Does a positive nitrite test always signal a UTI? While a positive nitrite test can strongly suggest the presence of a tract infection (UTI), it doesn t guarantee an infection in all cases.
So, when your pet’s urine is nitrite-positive, it means there are bacteria present somewhere in your dog or cat’s urinary tract. No all bacteria involved in UTIs have the ability to create nitrite. So, the lack of nitrite-positive urine is not firm evidence that your pet is free of a urinary tract infection.
D Feedback False-positive results are obtained if nitrite testing is not performed on fresh samples, because multiplication of contaminant bacteria soon produces measurable amounts of nitrite. A true positive nitrite test should be accompanied by a positive leukocyte esterase test.
The most significant predictor from our study was preoperative positive urine nitrite. Besides, to our knowledge, this was the first study reporting that preoperative positive urine nitrite was an independent risk factor for POF after URS, RIRS or PCNL. Nitrite is not normally present in urine unless uropathogens metabolite urinary nitrate.
What is nitrite testing? Nitrite testing is a chemical test used in urine testing to detect nitrites (nitrituria). 1 Nitrites are not usually present in urine, a positive test could suggest a urinary tract infection (the urinary tract includes the urethra, bladder, ureters and kidney). 2
Nitrite – Normal: negative – Bacteria reduce dietary nitrates to nitrites Protein – Normal: negative – Positive result could indicate infection, diabetes, trauma
A positive nitrite test is more useful than a positive leukocyte esterase (LE) test, although both increase the odds of a UTI diagnosis. If nitrite and LE tests are negative, the odds of a UTI
The highest specificity value, positive predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio were recorded for nitrite-positive and leucocyte esterase-positive results. Combined nitrite-positive or leucocyte-positive result was relatively the best indicator for accurate dipstick diagnosis, with AUC = 0.7242.
When you test positive for urine nitrites, it’s often a sign of bacterial infection. Learn more about urinalysis and what causes nitrites in urine.
Brava!