Bacterial urine culture is recommended in dogs suspected of having urinary tract infection (UTI), but there is expense and delay in obtaining such results. To determine the diagnostic performance of a rapid immunoassay (RIA) dipstick for detection of bacteriuria using voided urine from dogs with clinical signs of lower UTI. Twenty-four client-owned dogs. Voided urine was collected and the RIA performed within 30 minutes. Urine collected by cystocentesis was submitted for aerobic urine culture.

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... cNemar's test and kappa coefficient were calculated to determine agreement between the 2 tests. Nine of 21 dogs (43%) had UTI verified by aerobic urine culture. There was 1 false-negative and no false-positive RIA results. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the RIA were 89%, 100%, 100%, and 92%, respectively. This RIA is promising for correctly identifying whether or not voided urine samples from dogs with lower urinary tract clinical signs have true bacteriuria in a rapid, inexpensive manner. Additional patients should be enrolled in a similar study to determine if diagnostic performance is robust in a large population.