AIM The urine dipstick is a simple diagnostic module for detecting proteinuria, hematuria, and glucosuria and is favorably accepted in several Eastern Asian countries despite debates regarding its accuracy and target population, claiming that quantitative tests for a high-risk cohort should be more cost-effective. However, the current status of utilizing this test in these countries is not widely known due to lack of extensive data. We aimed to clarify the current nationwide and regional status of utilization of the urine dipstick test in an outpatient care setting and to determine the regional factors associated with adoption of this method. METHODS This cross-sectional study used openly accessible data from the national claim database that included the health insurance claims data of the Japanese population in 2017. RESULTS In total, 67 125 386 urine dipstick tests were performed compared with 1 862 700 quantitative urine protein tests and 17 544 949 urine sediment microscopy tests. Dipstick tests were employed principally for those who are >65 years old (60.3%) and, although the male population (52.5%) is generally larger, the female population is larger in age of 15-39 years and > 85 years. Multivariate analysis with several regional parameters revealed that the test was performed more commonly in the areas that accommodate greater elderly population (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Despite a heated dispute, the urine dipstick test is performed even more frequently than the quantitative biochemical or microscopic sediment tests, especially in regions holding the larger elderly population, which suggests that the test forms a part of geriatric medical care. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

中文翻译：

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日本门诊患者使用尿液试纸检测的地区差异

目的 尿液试纸是一种用于检测蛋白尿、血尿和糖尿的简单诊断模块，尽管在其准确性和目标人群方面存在争议，但在几个东亚国家仍被广泛接受，声称对高危人群进行定量检测的成本更高有效的。然而，由于缺乏广泛的数据，目前在这些国家使用这种测试的情况并不广为人知。我们旨在澄清目前全国和地区在门诊护理环境中使用尿液试纸测试的现状，并确定与采用这种方法相关的地区因素。方法 这项横断面研究使用了来自国家索赔数据库的可公开访问的数据，其中包括 2017 年日本人口的健康保险索赔数据。结果 总的来说，进行了 67 125 386 次尿液试纸检测，与 1 862 700 次定量尿蛋白检测和 17 544 949 次尿沉渣显微镜检测进行了比较。试纸测试主要用于 65 岁以上 (60.3%) 的人群，尽管男性人口 (52.5%) 通常较大，但女性人口较多，年龄在 15-39 岁和 85 岁以上。具有多个区域参数的多变量分析显示，该测试在容纳更多老年人口的地区更常见（P < 0.01）。结论 尽管存在激烈的争论，尿液试纸测试比定量生化或显微沉积物测试更频繁地进行，尤其是在老年人口较多的地区，这表明该测试构成了老年医学护理的一部分。本文受版权保护。版权所有。