Renal tubular epithelial cells add value in the diagnosis of upper urinary tract pathology

Background Diagnosis of upper urinary tract infections (UTI) is challenging. We evaluated the analytical and diagnostic performance characteristics of renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) and transitional epithelial cells (TECs) on the Sysmex UF-5000 urine sediment analyzer. Methods Urinary samples from 506 patients presenting with symptoms of a UTI were collected. Only samples for which a urinary culture was available were included....