Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How to check your cat's urine pH at home compared to lab tests
By Raskin, Rose E et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2002·Department of Physiological Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison of home monitoring methods for feline urine pH measurement.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how well different methods for measuring urine pH in cats matched up, which is important for managing conditions like bladder stones. They found that a portable pH meter called Chek-Mite gave results closest to the standard lab method, while another meter, Checker 1, was less reliable due to an expired electrode. Urine samples could be collected at home and stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours without affecting the pH readings significantly. This means that pet owners can effectively monitor their cat's urine pH at home, as long as they keep the equipment in good condition.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Monitoring of urine pH, often done in the patient s home, is essential for proper clinical treatment and management of conditions such as urolithiasis. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement in pH readings between a standard laboratory method and methods readily available for home monitoring. The influence of refrigerated storage on urine pH was also examined. METHODS: Urine samples were obtained by cystocentesis from 40 clinically healthy cats, and pH was measured within 2 hours of collection. Each sample was evaluated using pH paper, urinalysis reagent strip, 2 brands of portable pH meters (Chek-Mite, Corning, Corning, NY, USA; and Checker 1, Hanna Instruments, Woonsocket, RI, USA), and a standard laboratory benchtop pH meter. Urine samples were refrigerated, and a second pH reading was obtained with the laboratory benchtop meter after 24 hours. The degree of agreement was assessed among the different methods, with the laboratory benchtop pH meter as the reference method. RESULTS: The closest agreement was obtained with the Chek-Mite portable pH meter and least agreement with the Checker 1 portable pH meter, which had a constant negative bias of 0.31 units due to expiration of the electrode. As expected, pH paper and reagent strips had poor and intermediate agreement, respectively. The reagent strip method had a negative bias of 0.12 units when compared with the benchtop pH meter and wide disagreement at the low pH end. The reagent strip did not agree strongly with the reference method; only 50% of values were within 0.25 pH units of each other. The difference in pH between 0 hours (6.57 +/- 0.54) and 24 hours of refrigeration (6.61 +/- 0.53) was not considered clinically significant. CONCLUSION: Portable pH meters are excellent for monitoring urine pH at home as long as attention is given to electrode maintenance. Urine can be collected at home and kept refrigerated, and pH may be measured reliably within 24 hours using the reference method or a portable pH meter.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12040484/