Diagnostic performance of an albuminuria point-of-care test in screening for chronic kidney disease among young people living with HIV in Uganda: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives The main aim was to determine the diagnostic performance of an albuminuria point-of-care test (POC) for diagnosis of chronic kidney disease among young people living with HIV (YPLHIV) in Uganda.Design We conducted a cross-sectional study comparing the diagnostic performance of MicroalbuPHAN (Erba Lachema, Czech Republic), an albuminuria POC test against the laboratory-measured albumin and creatinine as the reference standard.Setting The study was set in seven HIV clinics in Kampala, Uganda that provide antiretroviral therapy to adults and children living with HIV. The study took place from April to August 2023.Participants 497 YPLHIV aged 10–24 years who were diagnosed with HIV before 10 years of age were randomly selected from the HIV clinics. Pregnant YPLHIV were excluded.Procedures Participants provided a spot urine sample that was tested for albumin and creatinine using the POC and in the laboratory and proteinuria using urine dipstick. The sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values (NPV, PPV) of the POC versus the laboratory test were calculated, and factors associated with having a positive POC test were estimated using logistic regression.Outcome measures The primary outcome was a diagnosis of albuminuria defined as an albumin creatinine ratio above 30 mg/g.Results Of the 497 participants enrolled, 278 (55.9%) were female and 331 (66.8%) were aged 10–17 years. The POC test had a sensitivity of 74.5% (95% CI 70.6% to 78.4%) and specificity of 68.1% (95% CI 63.9% to 72.3%). The PPV was 21.5% (95% CI 17.8% to 25.1%) and the NPV was 95.8% (95% CI 94.0% to 97.6%), with an accuracy of 68.8%. There was strong evidence that a positive POC test was associated with having proteinuria (OR 2.82; 95% CI 1.89 to 4.22, p<0.001); body mass index <19.5 (OR 1.69 95% CI 1.17 to 2.45, p=0.005) and being male (OR 1.48; 95% CI 1.02 to 2.14, p=0.04).Conclusions The albuminuria POC test had low sensitivity and specificity. However, it can be used to exclude kidney disease given its high NPV. It should be validated against the 24-hour urinary excretion rate to further determine its diagnostic performance.