| 5122 | PeriScreen™ Test Strips | 1 bottle of 10 strips / Kit |
Serim PeriScreen™ Test Strips provide a presumptive indication of peritonitis in PD patients by giving a semi-quantitative indication of the presence of teukocytes (white blood cells) in peritoneal dialysate effluent.
Serim PeriScreen Test Strips are a useful, rapid and inexpensive screening test for diagnosing peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis patients presenting with signs and symptoms suggestive of peritonitis.1
The diagnostic criteria2, 3 for peritonitis entails that at least two of the three following conditions should be present:
a) symptoms & signs of peritoneal inflammation;
b) cloudy peritoneal fluid with an elevated peritoneal fluid cell count (>100/pJ) due predominantly (>50%) to neutrophils; and
c) demonstration of bacteria in the peritoneal effluent by Gram's stain or culture.
Cloudiness of peritoneal fluid is hard to interpret and therefore is not an accurate indicator of the presence of leukocytes. Leukocytes increase in response to peritoneal infections: the presence of granulated leukocytes (primarily neutrophils) in peritoneal dialysate effluent is indicative of inflammation (peritonitis). PeriScreen yields a semi-quantitative indication of the level of leukocytes present in peritoneal dialysate effluent with a sensitivity of -50 cells/pliter.
Use whenever a PD patient presents with symptoms of peritonitis.
Use Serim PeriScreen Test Strips to test a freshly collected sample of peritoneal effluent. The strip can be held in the stream of effluent as it is being drained from the bag or the strip can be dipped in effluent collected in a clean container.
Serim PeriScreen Test Strips are supplied in ready-to-use form. When placed in contact with the sample of effluent according to the directions for use, esterase, an enzyme found when granulated leukocytes are present, reacts with the chemicals in the indicator pad to produce a color reaction.
References
1. Utility of Peritoneal Dialysis Leukocyte Test Strip in the Diagnosis of Peritonitis. Artificial Organs, Vol. 26, No. 6, 2002.
2. Handbook of Dialysis, Third Edition, pg. 375, Daugirdas, J.T., Ing, T.S., 1994, Little, Brown and Company, Boston/New York/Toronto/London.
3. NANT Dialysis Technology - A Manual for Dialysis Technicians, 2"" Edition, pg. 228. National Association of Nephrology Technicians/Technologists, Dayton, OH, 2000.