Urine C&S
200 Kshs | Home Collection Available
Purpose of Urine Culture & Sensitivity Test
Urine Culture & Sensitivity Test detects pathogens in urine that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs). Doctors prescribe this test to help manage UTIs.
The test confirms a UTI diagnosis and often accompanies a urinalysis to verify the presence of white blood cells or bacteria. It also identifies the best antibiotic to treat the infection and helps evaluate how well the antibiotic treatment is working.
Laboratory technicians culture the urine sample in an appropriate medium and incubate it. They then examine the medium for bacterial growth. If bacteria grow, they identify the organisms and test them against a range of antibiotics to determine which ones effectively limit their growth.
Urine Culture & Sensitivity Test Patient Preparation
No special preparations are required for the Urine Culture Test.
Urine Culture & Sensitivity Test Samples
Collect a minimum volume of 4 mL of urine in a Vacutainer gray-top urine culture transport tube with a preservative. Collect clean catch midstream, preferably from the first-morning specimens, and preserve at room temperature.
Reference Range
Positive result: The presence of bacteria or other pathogens in the culture means that the test is positive, which means that the patient has a urinary infection.
Negative result: absence of bacteria or pathogens in the culture means that the test is negative and that there is no infection.
Antibiotic sensitivity: The antimicrobial sensitivity testing results show which antibiotics are most likely to be effective in treating the infection and those that the bacteria are not sensitive to.
Results Turnaround
Results come out 3 – 4 days after receipt of samples
Diseases / Diagnostic indicators
Bacterial growth greater than 100,000 colonies indicates symptoms of a urinary tract infection, which is associated with diabetes, kidney disease, or autoimmune diseases.