LabNotes - Volume 17, No. 1, 2007

Urine Testing Survey Results

The prior issue of LabNotes (Volume 16, No.3) focused on the subject of urine specimen collection and testing. Thank you to all who sent us your opinions by return postcard or email. The results* of that combined survey are as follows:

The overwhelming majority of respondents found the subject matter contained in that issue to be useful in their line of work. Thirty percent of respondents estimated that urine cultures in their facilities became contaminated 10-25% of the time and 5% said contamination occurred 25-50% of the time.

Twenty percent of respondents said that 10-25% of contaminated urine samples required repeat collection and 8% of respondents estimated that repeat collections were needed for 25-50% of urine specimens.

When asked what percentage of contaminated, false-positive urine cultures were worked up and reported to physicians, 10% estimated that it occurs with 10-25% of them and 3% of respondents thought it happened with 25-50% of the cultures.

In general, proper sample collection, handling, transport, and storage will minimize urine culture contamination rates. BD Vacutainer® Urine Collection Products offer all the advantages of a closed system. Patients receive more reliable results, as there are fewer chances of false positives with decreased handling and/or proper preservation of the urine specimen.

* This survey was intended to gain insight on how some clinical laboratorians view the problem of urine culture contamination in their work experience. BD does not claim this to be representative of all clinical laboratorians or the state of urine culture testing in healthcare facilities industry-wide. A total of 75 individuals from US healthcare institutions participated in this survey.