Urine culture

    
A urine culture is a lab test to check for bacteria or other germs in a urine sample.

It can be used to check for a urinary tract infection in adults and children.

How the Test is Performed
Most of the time, the sample will be collected as a clean catch urine sample in your health care
provider's office or your home. You will use a special kit to collect the urine.
A urine sample can also be taken by inserting a thin rubber tube (catheter) through the urethra into
the bladder. This is done by someone in your provider's office or at the hospital. The urine drains into
a sterile container, and the catheter is removed.

Rarely, your provider may collect a urine sample by inserting a needle through the skin of your lower
abdomen into your bladder.

The urine is taken to a lab to determine which, if any, bacteria or yeast are present in the urine. This
takes 24 to 48 hours.

Your doctor tells you they want to do a urine culture. It’s a test to check for germs or bacteria in
your pee that can cause a urinary tract infection (UTI).
Your urinary tract includes the kidneys, bladder, and the tubes that carry your pee (ureters and
the urethra).
An infection usually starts in the bladder or urethra (the tube your pee comes out of). But it can
affect any part of this system.
If you have an infection, there may be a burning feeling when you pee. Or, you may feel like you
need to go, but nothing or very little comes out. If you also have a fever or belly pain, it may
mean you have a more serious infection.

What Do I Do for a Urine Culture?

You pee in a cup. It sounds simple enough, and it is. Just make sure you get a “clean” urine
sample so any germs found in it are from an infection in your urinary tract and not another
source, like your skin.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Wipe the area around where you pee with the
cleaning pad given to you. If you’re a woman, spread
the outer lips of your vagina and clean from front to
back. Men should wipe the tip of their penis.
 3. Pee a little in the toilet first and stop. Don’t pee in
the cup right away. Then, collect about 1 or 2 ounces
in the cup. Make sure the container doesn’t touch your
skin. Finish peeing in the toilet. This is called a
“midstream” urine catch.
4. Wash your hands again.
5. Some people may need their sample collected through a catheter -- a thin tube put into
your urethra and into the bladder. This is done with the help of a health care worker. The
sample is placed in a clean container.

6. What Happens Next?

7. Your sample goes to a lab. Drops of your pee are put in a petri dish and stored at body
temperature. Over the next few days, any bacteria or yeast in the sample will multiply
and grow.
8. A lab worker will look at the germs under the
microscope. Their size, shape, and color tell which
types are there. The lab worker will note how many
are growing. If it is a true infection, usually one type
of bacteria dominates. The lab worker will report the
identity of the germ.
9. If there are no harmful germs, the culture is called
“negative.” If there are bad germs growing, it’s
“positive.” The most common thing that causes UTI’s
is E-coli – bacteria that live in your intestines.
10. The lab may do more testing to see which drugs
have the best chance of fighting the infection.

When Will I Get My Results?

Your doctor’s office will call in 1 to 3 days. They’ll go over
the results with you.
If you have an infection, you’ll likely be given antibiotics. If
you are, be sure to complete the entire amount prescribed.
Most of the time, the infection goes away. But it may come
back, especially if you’re a sexually active woman. In
young women, sexual intercourse increases the risk for an
infection. The risk is higher in older men who have an
enlarged prostate.
It’s important to take your medicine the way your doctor
tells you to. An infection that starts in the bladder or
urethra can spread to the kidneys and damage them.
A urine culture is a test to find germs (such as bacteria) in the urine that can cause an
infection. Bacteria can enter through the urethra and cause a urinary tract infection (UTI). A
sample of urine is added to a substance that promotes the growth of germs. If no germs grow,
the culture is negative.