Chapter 13: Diagnostic tests
Skip chapter table of contents and go to main content
Related theory
Protection against infection is normally given by the constant flow of urine and regular bladder emptying, which prevent the colonization of micro‐organisms (PHE [190]). The urethra is colonized with naturally occurring flora but urine proximal to the distal urethra is normally sterile. As urine passes through the urethra, some of these micro‐organisms are flushed through and normal urine will naturally contain a small number of bacteria. Therefore, the presence of bacteriuria is insignificant in the absence of clinical symptoms of an infection (Keogh [114], Pagana and Pagana [177], Weston [255]).
UTIs account for up to 20% of all hospital‐acquired infections overall. This is the second largest group of infections in the healthcare setting (PHE [190]). The majority of the 20% are generally catheter‐related infections with only 2–6% actual UTIs (PHE [190]). UTIs in adults are common, particularly in women due to the short female urethra and its close proximity to the perineum, but age, sex and predisposing factors are other important considerations (PHE [190]).
