Asymptomatic bacteriuria

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Asymptomatic bacteriuria is a condition in which a significant number of bacteria appear in the urine occurring without typical symptoms such as burning during urination or frequent urination.

Diagnostic Criteria

The diagnostic criteria depend on the way the urine specimen is being sampled, the goal is to avoid contamination and limit the period between taking the sample and testing it (avoidance of false positivity due to bacterial growth).
===Clean catch, midstream voided urine specimen.===
For asymptomatic women:two consecutive voided urine specimens with the same bacterial strain isolated in a quantitative count of ≥10⁵cfu/mL.
For asymptomatic men :a single clean catch voided urine specimen with 1 bacterial species strain isolated in a quantitative count of ≥10⁵cfu/mL.

OR

Bladder catheterization

A single catheterized urine specimen with isolation of species of bacterial strain in a quantitative count of ≥100 cfu/mL in both men and women.