The role of experience in urine sediment analysis of dogs and cats

摘要

Urinalysis plays an important role in diagnosing several diseases and as part of routine health checks of senior and geriatric patients. There is no solid data regarding the role of experience in the microscopical examination of urine sediment of small animals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of experience when examining urine sediment. In total, sediment of 27 urine samples (of 13 dogs and 14 cats) were microscopically examined independently by one experienced observer (the expert) and two unexperienced final-year, veterinary students. For most sediments, there was a weak agreement (low kappa value: 0-0.4) between the expert and the students, with the exception of a moderate agreement for struvite crystals (kappa value: 0.47). The agreement between the students was also weak, but slightly higher than the agreement between the expert and the students. In this study, it is shown that experience plays an important role in the correct examination of urine sediment.