About Urine Infection Test :-
What is urine culture test? :-
Urine culture test is a lab test done to detect the presence of micro-organisms in the urine such as bacteria and yeast. Urine is made in the kidney, with the help of which excess water and waste products of the body are removed from the body. This test detects urine infection ( UTI ) in both children and adults .
Some other tests like Susceptibility Testing can also be done for people who have frequent urine infections.
Doctors recommend urine culture test for the following reasons:
To find the cause of a urinary tract infection
sensitivity testing or to choose the best drug to treat the infection
To find out whether the medicines given to treat urine infection are working properly or not.
Apart from this, if a person is feeling some symptoms of bladder infection or UTI, such as burning sensation or pain in urine, then it is also recommended to get urine culture test done in such a situation.
How to prepare before urine culture test?
No special preparation is required for this test. If you have taken antibiotic or any other medicine before or recently before the test , then the doctor should be informed about it beforehand. Do not urinate for one hour before the test. Your doctor may ask you to drink a glass of water 20 minutes before the test, so that enough urine is passed when the sample is taken.
How is urine culture test done?
The person being tested will be asked to collect a midstream urine sample. In most cases, the doctor advises the patient to take urine sample first thing in the day, as bacteria are found in maximum quantity in it. The following methods should be followed while collecting the urine sample:
Before taking a urine sample, the genital area for women and the penis for men should be cleaned so that bacteria from the skin do not enter the sample.
Women should clean the genital area from front to back.
The initial few drops of urine should not be taken.
The given container holds approximately 60 ml. Urine should be taken.
The lid of the container should be tightly closed and sent to the lab.
People who have a urine tube (catheter) have their urine sample taken by a trained doctor by inserting a thin tube into the urethra. If the urine sample is not sent to the laboratory within one hour, the sample should be kept in a refrigerator.
If the sample is being taken with a catheter or tube, there may be a risk of perforation of the urethra or bladder.
Urine culture test results and normal range
Urine test results usually take one to three days to come, sometimes longer because some microbes take longer to grow.
Normal results : Normal results of the urine culture test show that the person does not have any type of infection. The normal value of the test may vary from lab to lab.
Abnormal results: Abnormal or positive results of a urine culture test show the presence of yeast and bacteria in the urine, which may indicate a gallbladder infection or UTI.
A positive urine culture test results in the following:
Count less than 100: This means the person does not have an infection, or may be taking antibiotics.
100 to 100,000 counts: indicates that the urine sample is contaminated or has an infection (re-test may be recommended)
100,000 bacteria/ml: This indicates infection.
If the result is positive, it can also be advised to get a sensitive test done.