• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.359-368
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• 1999

Background : The purpose of this study was to determine whether cleansing the perineum and urethral meatus and using midstream urine affect the rate of bacterial contamination of urine specimens, and to determine the optimum urine collection method. We studied 41 asymptomatic healthy nursing school students. Women who were menstruating were not excluded from this study. Method : The first and midstream urine samples were collected during consecutive urinationsby each woman. The first sample was not a clean-catch specimen, and the second one was a clean-catch specimen. Both specimens were studied by urinalysis and bacterial culture with standard methods. Results : 41 women met the study criteria and 39 successfully completed the study. None of the urine cultures were positive. 68.3% of the non clean-catch first urine cultures, 53.7% of the non clean-catch midstream cultures, 33.3% of the first clean-catch urine culteres and 30.8% of the midstream clean-catch urine were found to be contaminated. There was a significant difference in the bacterial contamination rates between the first and midstream urine, and the clean-catch and non clean-catch urine(p=0.035, p =0.001 respectively). On urinalysis, 7.3% of the non clean-catch first urine, 7.3% of the non clean-catch midstream urine, 2.6% of the clean-catch first urine and 2.6% of clean-catch midstream urine were found to be above grade 2. Conclusions : According to our results, the bacterial contamination rate was the lowest in midstream and clean catch urine specimens. Threrfore it is recommended that the midstream clean-catch technique is the standard practice for collecting urine specimens for bacterial culture in women.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.208-211
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• 2006

Microalbuminuria is most frequently caused by kidney damage from diabetes. Moreover, many other conditions can lead to kidney damage, such as high blood pressure, heart failure, cirrhosis, or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The measurement of the microalbumin in urine may be useful for the early diagnosis or as a predictor of nephropathy in diabetes. The most common method for getting a quantitative measurement of urinary protein relies on a 24-hour urine collection. The result of this method is accurate. But 24hr urine collection is difficult to obtain and variations in volume are frequent. Also the patients complain about urine collection. We tried to measure reference values for microalbumin using fasting urine and compare them with the albumin/creatinine ratio using 24hr urine. The concentrations of microalbumin in fasting urine and 24hr urine were $7.1{\pm}3.8mg/L$, $5.7{\pm}2.9mg/L$ (r=0.61, p=0.27), respectively. The albumin/creatinine ratios using fasting urine and 24hr urine were $8.7{\pm}4.2{\mu}g/mg$, $8.7{\pm}4.0{\mu}g/mg$ (r=0.76, p=0.88), respectively. This study indicated that the measurement of microalbumin in fasting urine was an easy and simple method for early diagnosis or to predict nephropathy in diabetes. Thus, setting up the reference value using fasting urine may be useful in the screening test for the diabetic nephropathy patients instead of using the 24hr albumin excretion rate (AER).

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.423-431
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• 2009

Standard uroflowmetry measures the urine weight using single load cell to evaluate the urinary flow rate. Impact noise should be introduced due to gravity when the urine stream falls down into the container upon the load cell. The present study placed three load cells on the three vertices of a regular triangle and the three signals were ensemble averaged to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) regardless of how the urination was made. Simulated urination experiment was performed with three different urine collection methods. In all three methods, SNR of the averaged signal was much higher than each load cell signals. With no urine collection device, the present signal averaging technique resulted in SNR values higher by 10~15 dB than when dual funnels or upper funnel were used to guide the urine stream. Therefore, it was demonstrated that the three point measurement followed by with ensemble averaging could enable accurate uroflowmetric test without any specially made urine collection devices.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.128-136
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• 2005

Purpose : Urine collection using a sterile adhesive bag for urinalysis has been used commonly in infants and young children. However, this method has had some drawbacks. So, this study was performed to evaluate the usage of disposable diapers as a substitute for the routine urine collection method. Methods : 60 mL of self voided fresh urine was collected from 99 patients. Half of the urine was poured on the disposable diapers which did not contain absorbent gel beads. After 1 hr, we obtained the urine samples(extracted urine) by compressing the wet diapers using a 50 ml syringe. Routine, microscopic and biochemical analyses were performed on the other half of fresh urine and extracted urine. Then we compared each result by correlative analysis. Results : 198 samples from 99 patients were evaluated. The results of routine urinalysis except WBC and biochemical urinalysis showed a significant correlation between the two groups(P<0.05). The relative coefficients of urine SG, pH, glucose, protein, blood and leukocytes between the two groups were 0.964, 0.938, 0.977, 0.956, 0.931 and 0.738, respectively. Those of urinary sodium, potassium, chloride and creatinine were 0.997, 0.998, 0.995 and 0.998, respectively Microscopic examinations showed lower relative coefficients than the other results, 0.740 for RBC and 0.602 for WBC, but these were still significant(P<0.05). Conclusion : The results of the urine analysis with extracted urine from diapers correlates well with that of fresh urine. This new method is very helpful and can be used as an alternative of urine collection, especially for infants and young children. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2005;9:128-136)

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.58 no.8
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• pp.1638-1643
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• 2009

Uroflowmetry is a convenient clinical test to screen the benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) common in the aged men. A load cell is located beneath the urine container to measure the weight of urine. However, it is sensitive to the impact applied on the bottom of the container by the urine stream, which could be a noise source lowering the reliability of the system. With this aim, our study proposed a noise reduction technique by computing ensemble average of the weighted signals that were acquired from three-load cells forming a regular triangle beneath the urine container. Simulated urination experiment was performed with three different collection methods, all of which demonstrated significant noise reduction by ensemble averaging. Furthermore, the best results can be obtained without any special urine collection devices. Thus, our novel method can be usefully applied to uroflowmetry for enhancing measurement in terms of accuracy and reliability.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.346-350
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• 2009

Purpose : Since children under two years with suspected urinary tract infections (UTIs) cannot control urination, urine cultures in such children are usually performed via urine bags. This method is noninvasive but has a high contamination rate. We studied the contamination rate of bag urine culture in diagnosing UTI in infants under two years and the factors responsible for contamination. Methods : We examined patients under 2 years in whom urine culture through the urine bag method yielded over 105 colonies of a single pathogen. We defined UTI by referring to the guidelines of The Korean Society of Pediatric Nephrology, 2005. We examined the factors responsible for contamination according to sex, duration of urine collection, and whether diarrhea took place with contamination rate. Results : We examined 717 patients (412 males and 305 females). The contamination rate of one bag urine culture was 37.9%. Gender was not related to the contamination rate (P>0.05). Duration of urine collection showed an association with the contamination rate. The longer the duration of collecting urine, the higher was the contamination rate. Duration of urine collection was divided into three groups: first group, <2 hours; second group, 24 hours; and third group, ${\geq}4$ hours. Contamination rates were 30.0%, 42.2%, and 43.7% for the first, second, and third groups, respectively, with statistical significance (P=0.001). Diarrhea at admission had no impact on the contamination rate (P>0.05). Conclusion : The contamination rate of urine culture in the examined patients was 37.9%. Gender and diarrhea symptoms were not responsible for contamination. In infants with a suspected UTI, urine should be collected within 2 hours through the urine bag method. If urine collection takes >2 hours, the urine bag should be resterilized and reattached to the patient.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.5
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• pp.183-189
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• 2015

Purpose: Catheter urine (CATH-U) and suprapubic aspiration (SPA) are reliable urine collection methods for confirming urinary tract infections (UTI) in infants. However, noninvasive and easily accessible collecting bag urine (CBU) is widely used, despite its high contamination rate. This study investigated the validity of CBU cultures for diagnosing UTIs, using CATH-U culture results as the gold standard. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 210 infants, 2- to 24-month-old, who presented to a tertiary care hospital's pediatrics department between September 2008 and August 2013. We reviewed the results of CBU and CATH-U cultures from the same infants. Results: CBU results, relative to CATH-U culture results (${\geq}10^4$ colony-forming units [CFU]/mL) were widely variable, ranging from no growth to ${\geq}10^5CFU/mL$. A CBU cutoff value of ${\geq}10^5CFU/mL$ resulted in false-positive and false-negative rates of 18% and 24%, respectively. The probability of a UTI increased when the CBU bacterial count was ${\geq}10^5/mL$ for all infants, both uncircumcised male infants and female infants (likelihood ratios [LRs], 4.16, 4.11, and 4.11, respectively). UTIs could not be excluded for female infants with a CBU bacterial density of $10^4-10^5$ (LR, 1.40). The LRs for predicting UTIs based on a positive dipstick test and a positive urinalysis were 4.19 and 3.11, respectively. Conclusion: The validity of obtaining urine sample from a sterile bag remains questionable. Inconclusive culture results from CBU should be confirmed with a more reliable method.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To date, sodium intake has been evaluated based on spot urine instead of 24-hour (hr) urine collection. Nevertheless, the optimal method for assessing daily sodium intake remains unclear. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Fifteen male (age 32.7 ± 6.5 years) participants were offered 3 meals with a total of 9-10 g salt over 24 hours, and 24-hr urine was collected from the second-void urine of the first day to the first-void urine of the second day. Twenty-four-hr urinary sodium (24UNa) was estimated using Tanaka's equation and the Korean formula, and spot urine Na, potassium (K), chloride (Cl), urea nitrogen (UN), creatinine (Cr), specific gravity (SG) and osmolality (Osm) were measured. The ratios of urinary Na to other parameters were calculated, and correlations with total measured 24UNa were identified. RESULTS: Average 24-hr urine volume was 1,403 ± 475 mL, and measured 24UNa was 143.9 ± 42.1 mEq (range, 87.1-239.4 mEq). Measured 24UNa was significantly correlated with urinary Na/UN (r = 0.560, P < 0.01), urinary Na/Osm (r = 0.510, P < 0.01), urinary Na/Cr (r = 0.392, P < 0.01), urinary Na/K (r = 0.290, P < 0.01), 24UNa estimated using Tanaka's equation (r = 0.452, P < 0.01) and the Korean formula (r = 0.414, P < 0.01), age (r = 0.548, P < 0.01), weight (r = 0.497, P < 0.01), and height (r = 0.393, P < 0.01) in all spot urine samples. Estimated 24UNa based on the second-void spot urine of the first day tended to be more closely correlated with measured 24UNa than were estimates from the other spot urine samples. The significant parameters correlated with the second-void urine of the first day were urinary Na/K (r = 0.647, P < 0.01), urinary Na/Cr (r = 0.558, P < 0.05), and estimated 24UNa using Tanaka's equation (r = 0.616, P < 0.05) and the Korean formula (r = 0.588, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Second-void urine is more reliable than first-void urine for estimating 24UNa. Urinary Na/K in the second-void urine on the first day is significantly correlated with 24UNa. Further studies are needed to establish the most reliable index and the optimal time of urine sampling for predicting 24UNa.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2013

Urine is a widely used matrix in biomonitoring studies on the assessment of human exposure to environmental chemicals such as phthalate esters and bisphenol A (BPA). In addition to the need to apply valid analytical techniques, assurance of specimen integrity during collection and storage is an important prerequisite for the presentation of accurate and precise analytical data. One of the common issues encountered in the analysis of non-persistent contaminants is whether shipping and storage temperature and time since collection have an effect on sample integrity. In this study, we investigated the stability of phthalate metabolites and BPA in spiked and unspiked urine samples stored at room temperature ($20^{\circ}C$) or at $-80^{\circ}C$ for up to 8 weeks. Concentrations of phthalate metabolites declined, on average, by 3% to 15%, depending on the compounds, and BPA declined by ~30% after 4 weeks of storage of spiked urine samples at $20^{\circ}C$. In a test of 30 unspiked urine samples stored at $20^{\circ}C$ and at $-80^{\circ}C$ for 8 weeks, the concentrations of phthalate metabolites and BPA decreased by up to 15% to 44%, depending on the compound and on the samples. It was found that the small reduction in phthalate concentrations observed in urine, varied depending on the samples. In a few urine samples, concentrations of phthalate metabolites and BPA did not decline even after storage at $20^{\circ}C$ for 8 weeks. We found a significant relationship between concentrations of target analytes in urine stored at $20^{\circ}C$ and at $-80^{\circ}C$ for 8 weeks. We estimated the half-lives of phthalate metabolites and BPA in urine stored at $20^{\circ}C$. The estimated half-life of monoethyl phthalate (mEP) and mono (2-ethyl-5-carboxyphentyl) phthalate (mECPP) in urine stored at $20^{\circ}C$ was over two years, of mono (2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (mEOHP) and monobenzyl phthalate (mBzP) was approximately one year, and of other phthalate metabolites was approximately 6 months. The estimated half-life of BPA in urine stored at $20^{\circ}C$ was approximately 3 months, which is much longer than that reported for aquatic ecosystems.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.492-497
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• 2023

Objective: The objectives were to demonstrate that the nitrogen and energy in pig urine supplemented with hydrochloric acid (HCl) are not volatilized and to determine the minimum amount of HCl required for nitrogen preservation from pig urine. Methods: In Exp. 1, urine samples of 3.0 L each with 5 different nitrogen concentrations were divided into 2 groups: 1.5 L of urine added with i) 100 mL of distilled water or ii) 100 mL of 6 N HCl. The urine in open plastic containers was placed on a laboratory table at room temperature for 10 d. The weight, nitrogen concentration, and gross energy concentration of the urine samples were determined every 2 d. In Exp. 2, three urine samples with different nitrogen concentrations were added with different amounts of 6 N HCl to obtain varying pH values. All urine samples were placed on a laboratory table for 5 d followed by nitrogen analysis. Results: Nitrogen amounts in urine supplemented with distilled water decreased linearly with time, whereas those supplemented with 6 N HCl remained constant. Based on the linear broken-line analysis, nitrogen was not volatilized at a pH below 5.12 (standard error = 0.71 and p<0.01). In Exp. 3, an equation for determining the amount of 6 N HCl to preserve nitrogen in pig urine was developed: additional 6 N HCl (mL) to 100 mL of urine = 3.83×nitrogen in urine (g/100 mL)+0.71 with R² = 0.96 and p<0.01. If 62.7 g/d of nitrogen is excreted, at least 240 mL of 6 N HCl should be added to the urine collection container. Conclusion: Nitrogen in pig urine is not volatilized at a pH below 5.12 at room temperature and the amount of 6 N HCl required for nitrogen preservation may be up to 240 mL per day for a 110-kg pig depending on urinary nitrogen excretion.