Urine Culture & Sensitivity, Automated

Automated urinalysis can be used for urinary tract screening and for diagnosing and monitoring a broad variety of nephrological and urological conditions; newer applications show promising results for early detection of urothelial cancer.

Urine culture results are usually ready in 1 to 3 days. But some germs take longer to grow in the culture. So results may not be available for several days.

A “positive” or abnormal test is when bacteria or yeast are found in the culture. This likely means that you have a urinary tract infection or bladder infection. Other tests may help your provider know which bacteria or yeast are causing the infection and which antibiotics will best treat it.

To confirm that you have a kidney infection, you’ll likely be asked to provide a urine sample to test for bacteria, blood or pus in your urine. Your doctor might also take a blood sample for a culture — a lab test that checks for bacteria or other organisms in your blood.

Five standard urine tests can be used to examine the different components of urine. Two of them can also be done at home, whereas the other three can only be done in a lab.

Ordering of Urine Culture: Urine cultures should only be obtained when a significant suspicion for a UTI exists based on patient symptoms. Urine culture data should always be interpreted taking into account the results of the urinalysis and patient symptoms.

Before the test, don’t eat foods that can change the colour of your urine. Examples of these include blackberries, beets, and rhubarb. Don’t do heavy exercise before the test. Tell your doctor ALL the medicines and natural health products you take.