urineculturen

Urineculturen, also known as a urine culture, is a laboratory test used to detect and identify microorganisms in urine. It is primarily employed to diagnose urinary tract infections and to guide antibiotic therapy, especially in adults with complicated symptoms, pregnancy, catheter-associated infection, or treatment failures.

Specimen collection is critical. Samples are typically obtained by clean-catch midstream technique, but catheterized or suprapubic aspirate specimens may be used in certain cases. The collected urine is inoculated onto appropriate culture media and incubated at body temperature to promote microbial growth. After 18 to 48 hours, growth is assessed, organisms are identified, and colony counts are reported as colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL). Diagnostic thresholds vary by clinical context; traditionally, ≥10^5 CFU/mL indicates infection in a clean-catch specimen, though lower counts may be clinically significant in symptomatic women, men, or catheterized patients.

An essential component is antibiotic susceptibility testing, which determines which agents are likely to be effective. Results are reported as the identified organism with susceptibility or resistance profiles, guiding targeted therapy and helping avoid unnecessary broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Common urinary pathogens include Escherichia coli, followed by Klebsiella, Proteus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas, and Candida in some populations. Limitations include possible contamination, asymptomatic bacteriuria, prior antibiotic exposure reducing yield, and the inability to detect noncultivable organisms.

Results typically become available within 1–3 days, depending on organism growth and laboratory workflow.