PRESENTED BY:

BACONGCO, BISNAR, CAMPO,

CAPILITAN, DERRAMAS

URINE CULTURE
OVERVIEW
Urine Culture is a test to find germs (bacteria) in the
urine that can cause an infection.
Urine in the bladder is normally sterile. It does not
contain any bacteria or other organism, but bacteria
can enter in the urethra which can cause Urinary
Tract Infection (UTI).
UTIs are more common in women and girls that in men.
This allows bacteria from the intestine to come into
contact more easily with the urethra. Men also have
an antibacterial substance in their prostate gland
that lowers their risk.
• A sample of a urine is added to a substance that
promotes the growth of germs.
• If there are no germs that grow, the culture is
negative.
• If the germs grow, the culture is positive.
• The type of germ may be identified using a
microscope or chemical tests.
• Sometimes other tests are done to find the right
medicine for treating the infection, which is called
sensitivity testing, which helps the doctor to choose
the best medicine to treat specific types of bacteria
or fungus that may be causing UTI.
• It is usually ready in 1 to 3 days.
WHY IT IS DONE?
• Find the cause of Urinary Tract Infection
(UTI)
• Make desicions about the best treatment for
a UTI. This is called sensitivity testing.
• Find out if treatment for a UTI worked.
HOW TO PREPARE
• Collecting urine sample
– Avoid urinating just before having the
test.
– Collect a clean-catch midstream urine
sample
LABORATORY PROCEDURE
• A small sample of urine is placed on one or more
agar plates and incubated at body temperature.
– Any bacteria or yeast that are present in the urine sample grow
over the next 24 to 48 hours as small circular colonies.
• A laboratorian observes the colonies on the agar
plate, counting the total number and determining
how many types have grown.
• The laboratorian will take a colony from each type
and perform a gram stain.
 RESULT
NORMAL: No bacteria or other germs
(such as fungi) grow in the
culture. The culture result is
negative.
ABNORMAL: Organisms(bacteria) grow in the
culture. The result is positive.
A count of 100, 000 or more
bacteria per mL of urine may be
cause by an infection.
A count raging from 100 to 100,
000 could be caused either by
infection or contamination of
the sample.