Proper Set-up of a

Urine Culture

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 April 4, 2021

Professor Johnathan Fisher

San Juan College
4601 College Blvd.
Farmington, NM 87402

Dear Professor Fisher,

As part of the final project assigned, I am hereby submitting the attached report entitled Proper
set-up of a urine culture.

This report is a detailed step by step instruction on how to set-up a urine sample on a petri dish in
order to help diagnose a urinary tract infection in a patient. The intended purpose of this report
is to teach veterinary assistants and technicians on how to properly plate a urine sample and
maintain sterility to avoid contamination that may result in a false reading of bacterial growth. It
will explain the process beginning with once the sample is collected, collecting the supplies
needed for the task, plating the urine droplets, placing the petri dish inside the incubator, and
recording the sample information in the logbook. The steps listed are concise, in chronological
order, and divided into sections that will make it easy to navigate through.

My hope is that you find this report becomes a useful tool to train new employees as well as
avoid any errors that can impede a patient’s diagnosis. I have included pictures for a better
understanding of the process. Please feel free to email me at shelly@petvacx.com or contact me
at 240-676-7182 if there are any comments, questions, or concerns.

Sincerely,

Shelly Paniagua
Practice Manager
Petvacx Animal Hospital

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 Proper Set-up of a
Urine Culture

Submitted to

Professor Johnathan Fisher

San Juan College
Farmington, New Mexico

April 4, 2021

By
Shelly Paniagua

This manual explains the process of setting up a urine culture for veterinary lab technicians. It
covers the step-by-step details beginning with once the urine sample is collected, maintaining
sterility, to utilizing proper sampling techniques to produce the most accurate results for this
in-house diagnostic test.

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Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

1.1 Purpose ………………………………………………………………………………. 5

1.2 Background ………………………………………………………………………….. 5

1.3 Scope ………………………………………………………………………………… 5

2.0 Gather Supplies Needed ……………………………………………………………………... 6

2.1 Locate patients urine sample ……………………………………………………….... 6

2.2 Select appropriate culture plate ………………………………………………….……6

2.3 Instruments to transfer urine sample onto culture plate …………………………..…. 6

3.0 Plating urine onto culture plate ……………………………………………………………….7

3.1 Obtain urine specimen ………………………………………………………………..7

3.2 Label Plate ……………………………………………………………………………7

3.3 Streak urine onto plate ………………………………………………………………..7

4.0 Incubator culture plate placement …………………………………………………………… 8

4.1 Checking temperature ……………………………………………………………….. 8

4.2 Checking humidity ………………………………………………………………….. 8

4.3 Placing plate ……………………………………………………………………….… 8

5.0 Logbook Record Keeping ……………………………………………………………….…... 9

5.1 Culture template document …………………………………………………….……..9

5.2 Check for growth ……………………………………………………………….…… 9

5.3 Inform Doctor results …………………………………………………………….….. 9

6.0 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………. 10

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1.0 Introduction
The following content gives an overview of the purpose, background, and scope
of this manual.

1.1 Purpose
This manual is intended to serve as an educational tool for veterinary lab
technicians. It explains how to properly set up a sterile urine culture.

1.2 Background

The urine culture is an in-house diagnostic test that detects and identifies bacteria
and yeast in the urine, which may be causing a urinary tract infection. Urine
cultures are important in helping to diagnose a urinary tract infection. The urine
culture is used, along with results form a urinalysis, to diagnose a urinary traction
infection and to identify the bacteria or yeast causing the infection.

1.3 Scope
This manual explains the step-by-step process of setting up a urine culture. It does
not explain how to initially collect a sterile urine sample for the diagnostic test
which is critical because any source of contamination can alter the results. It is
also worth noting that this manual does not cover susceptibility testing which is
most done when a urine culture is positive to determine which antibiotics will
inhibit the growth of the microbe causing the infection. The results will help
determine which drugs are likely to be most effective in treating the infection.

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2.0 Gather Supplies Needed

2.1 Locate patients urine sample

Urine sample of patient will be in the refrigerator, in a bin labeled “Urine for
Culture”, sample will be in a white top (non-additive) tube labeled with patients
first/last name and sample collection date

2.2 Select appropriate culture plate

There are two types of culture plates (petri dishes)- confirm with Doctor which
plate is preferred
● Spectrum IV -Quad Culture System
● Mueller Hinton -Blood Agar

2.3 Instruments to transfer urine sample onto culture plate

● Gloves
● Permanent Marker
● Sterile, blue plastic inoculating loop (which is calibrated to transfer 0.001
mL)

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3.0 Plating Urine onto Culture Plate

3.1 Obtain urine specimen

-Open refrigerator and collect labeled sample from Urine for Culture bin
-Select appropriate culture plate for testing as confirmed by the Doctor

3.2 Label plate

-Using a permanent black marker label culture plate at the bottom
(underside of the plate)
● Patient First and Last name
● Doctor initials
● Sampling date
● Source (ex. UR for urine)

3.3 Streak urine onto plate

-Place gloves on both hands
-Take out one inoculating loop from pouch. Reseal pouch to maintain sterility
-Mix urine sample by inverting test tube 10 times
-Take the lid off the sample tube
-Immerse the loop in urine only enough to submerge the entire loophole itself
*Otherwise, if submerged further it will pick up more than the calibrated amount

-Place the lid back on the sample tube

-Take the lid off the culture plate
-Place the inoculating loop on one end of culture plate and make tight streaks all
the way across the plate to spread urine out evenly over the entire plate
-Rotate plate 360 degrees and place inoculating loop at same end of culture plate
and make tight streaks all the way across the plate to spread urine out evenly

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4.0 Incubator Culture Plate Placement

4.1 Checking Temperature

-Check Power button, it should be lit orange to indicate incubator is ON
-Check thermometer inside the incubator- it should read 103 F. (If temperature is
not within range, stop and inform manager before proceeding)

4.2 Checking Humidity

-Open incubator door and locate the plastic cup inside
-Check to see if there is enough water inside the cup (check the fill-line)
*If needed, add tap water until it reaches the fill-line and place back in incubator

4.3 Placing plate inside Incubator

-Flip culture plate upside down (label should be facing up)
*This will avoid any build-up of condensation from dripping onto sample site.

-Close incubator door

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5.0 Logbook Record Keeping

5.1 Culture Template Document

-Login into IDEXX Neo (software) to pull up patient file
-Create a consultation under today’s date
-Select the template titled ‘Culture Template’ and upload to consult
-Fill out sampling information fields
-Save document and print
-Place Culture Template document on clipboard next to the incubator

5.2 Check for Growth

-After 24 hours have lapsed open incubator door and take out plate
-Place culture plate on top of Growth Comparison Chart to interpret results

5.3 Inform Doctor results

-After results have interpreted inform primary Doctor
-Doctor will then relay results to client and proceed with treatment if necessary

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6.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, a urine culture may be ordered when a canine/feline patient develops signs
and symptoms of a urinary tract infection and/or results of a urinalysis shows that a urinary tract
infection is present. Results of a urine culture are often interpreted in conjunction with the results
of a urinalysis and with regarding how the urine sample was collected and whether the patients’
symptoms are present. If a culture has growth, then it is considered positive and susceptibility
testing may be performed in order to find out which antibiotic is the most effective. On the other
hand, if a culture is reported to have no growth in 24 to 48 hours, then that usually indicates there
is no infection. This manual was created to facilitate the process of running an in-house
diagnostic test and to demonstrate the importance of its accuracy.

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