Urine Collection:
- You will be provided with a sterile container by your healthcare provider to collect a urine sample.
- It is essential to cleanse the genital area before collecting the sample to minimize contamination.
- You will be asked to provide a midstream urine sample, which means starting the urine stream, then collecting a portion of the flow in the sterile container, and completing urination normally.
- The urine sample should be delivered to the laboratory promptly, preferably within a few hours of collection to ensure accurate results.
Culture:
- In the laboratory, a small amount of the urine sample is inoculated onto sterile culture plates containing different growth media.
- These culture plates provide favorable conditions for the growth of microorganisms.
- The plates are incubated at an appropriate temperature and observed for several days. During this time, if any bacteria or other microorganisms are present in the urine sample, they will grow and multiply on the culture media, forming visible colonies.
Sensitivity Testing:
- Once bacterial growth is observed on the culture plates, sensitivity testing is performed to determine which antibiotics are effective against the specific bacteria causing the infection.
- This involves placing small antibiotic-impregnated disks or strips near the bacterial colonies on the culture plates.
- If the bacteria are susceptible to an antibiotic, the growth of the bacteria around the antibiotic disk will be inhibited, creating a clear zone around it.
- The size of the inhibition zone indicates the level of susceptibility to the specific antibiotic.
By analyzing the growth patterns, colony morphology, and sensitivity results, laboratory professionals can identify the type of bacteria or other microorganisms causing the UTI and determine which antibiotics are most effective for treatment. This information helps healthcare providers prescribe the appropriate antibiotics, ensuring targeted and effective management of the infection.