Evaluation of Menarini SediMAX analyzer for automated urine microscopy analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the analytical performance of SediMAX. (Menarini Diagnostics), a new analytical tool for automatic analysis of urinary sediment. On 422 routine samples, we correlated the microscopic examination with SediMAX morphological outputs. In an early experimental phase, the manufacturer's ranges were adopted obtaining unsatisfactory results. To improve the degree of correlation, we modified the reference ranges. An overall concordance rate of 87.4% for red blood cells, 81% for leucocytes, 74.2% for bacteria, and 84.1% for squamous epithelial cells was finally obtained. The rate of false positive results ranged from 2.1% (red cells) to 17.3% (bacteria), and the rate of false negative results ranged from 3.7% (leucocytes) to 9.6% (bacteria). In conclusion, our results seem to suggest that the performance of SediMAX instrument should be improved before to recommend its use for replacement of urine microscopy examination.