Medical Pharmacology Chapter 35  Antibacterial Drugs

Urinary Tract Infection
  • "For the microbiologic diagnosis of urinary tract infection, by definition, there must be >100,000 organisms/cc. This definition is used because of the common contamination of a "clean-catch" urine specimen, especially in females.

    • The photograph above shows the plate from just such a specimen.

  •  It is growing colonies of at least 3 different types (arrows- Gram negative rods (GNR), diptheroids (Dips), and staph coagulase negative (SCN).

    • This culture would be signed out as 'mixed flora, probable contamination'.

  • Certain patients may have asymptomatic bacteruria, with less than 100,000 organisms/cc.

    • Pregnant women are an example of such a patient population. Any number of organisms may be significant.

    • In such a case, it may be worth considering straight catheterization, to obtain an optimal specimen.

    •  However, you must consider the risk that you may introduce organisms by doing a catheterization."

  • Ó 1999 KUMC Pathology and the University of Kansas, used with permission; courtesy of Dr. James Fishback, Department of Pathology, University of Kansas Medical Center.

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