UriSed as an Alternative to Phase-Contrast Microscopy in the Differentiation between Glomerular and Non-Glomerular Hematuria.

Background: Differentiation between glomerular and non-glomerular hematuria by observation of the erythrocyte morphology using phase-contrast is a time-consuming and labor-intensive procedure that requires skilled personnel. This paper has the purpose to evaluate the performance of UriSed (also called sediMAX in some countries) as an alternative to the phase-contrast microscopic analysis of erythrocyte morphology.

Methods: 312 urine samples with hematuria were analyzed by UriSed and by phase-contrast microscopy. Based on the presence of codocytes and/or acanthocytes, samples were classified as non-glomerular and glomerular. Kappa correlation was used to assess the agreement between both methods.

Results: Our data showed excellent agreement between erythrocyte morphology analyzed by both methods (r = 0.974, kappa = 0.9484, p < 0.001) with only 8 samples presenting discordant results.

Conclusions: UriSed proved to be a precise and accurate alternative to the gold standard phase-contrast microscopy.