URINE TRINDER SPOT-TEST - A RAPID SALICYLATE SCREEN FOR THE EMERGENCYDEPARTMENT

Study objective: To determine whether the urine Trinder spot test, per formed by emergency physicians, is a sensitive bedside screen for sali cylates. Design: Prospective, blinded human protocol with subjects ser ving as their own controls. Setting: Urban Level I medical center. Par ticipants: Ten male and two female volunteers with negative urine toxi cologic screen results before the start of the study. Interventions: E ach participant ingested 975 mg of nonenteric coated aspirin. Serum an d urine samples were collected before ingestion and 2 and 4 hours afte r ingestion. Three emergency physicians and a toxicology technician in dependently performed Trinder spot tests. Results were recorded as pos itive or negative for salicylate on the basis of color change (a purpl e reading was considered positive). Results: All postingestion urine s pecimens were detected by all testers with 100% sensitivity. Two false positives occurred in the preingestion samples. Serum quantitative as says confirmed the presence of salicylates in all postingestion specim ens. Conclusion: This pilot study suggests that emergency physicians c an use the Trinder spot test as a sensitive bedside salicylate screen, potentially saving time and quantitative assay expense.