Thirty studies were included in the review (the total number of participants was unclear).
Twenty-three studies used a threshold of 10^8 colony-forming units/mL to define the presence of a UTI on culture; analyses were restricted to these studies.
LE dipstick (15 studies): the sensitivity ranged from 17 to 100% and the specificity from 41 to 98%. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 72% (95% CI: 61, 84) and 82% (95% CI: 74, 90), respectively.
Nitrite dipstick (16 studies): the sensitivity ranged from 22 to 90% and the specificity from 85 to 100%. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 54% (95% CI: 44, 64) and 98% (95% CI: 96, 99), respectively.
LE or nitrite positive (14 studies): the sensitivity ranged from 47 to 97% and the specificity from 44 to 97%. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 81% (95% CI: 71, 90) and 77% (95% CI: 69, 86), respectively.
LE and nitrite positive (7 studies): the sensitivity ranged from 12 to 96% and the specificity from 89 to 100%. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 43% (95% CI: 23, 64) and 96% (95% CI: 93, 99), respectively.
There was strong evidence of heterogeneity for all tests, and estimates were similar in the blinded and unblinded studies. The meta-regression analysis found no effect of blinding or pregnancy on the DOR.