Chemstrip 10

Urinalyses were conducted during the same visit as urine culture sample collection for each dog in the Clinical Pathology and Immunology Laboratory at the NCSU‐VH. Urine specific gravity was measured using a digital refractometer (Pal Abbe Digital Refractometer #PA202, MISCO Cleveland, Ohio) and chemical analysis performed using commercially available dipsticks (Chemstrip 10, Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim Germany) with a calibrated digital analyzer. Sediment examination was conducted by centrifuging 5 mL of the urine sample for 5 minutes at 1600 rpm, removing the supernatant, resuspending the sediment, and examining an unstained aliquot (10‐15 microscopic fields at 50× and 400× magnification). The following information was included in the final analysis: pH, urine specific gravity (USG), proteinuria (mg/dL), hematuria (RBC/μL), pyuria (WBC/HPF), and bacteriuria. For statistical analysis, data were consolidated and converted to categorical variables as follows: proteinuria (negative/trace or 30‐500 mg/dL), hematuria (≤5 or >5 RBC/μL), pyuria (≤5 or >5 WBC/HPF) and gross bacteriuria (negative/trace/1+ or 2+ to 4+).