What does mixed growth in urine culture mean?

“Mixed Growth” is used to indicate contamination with vaginal, skin or bowel organisms. The presence of epithelial cells on microscopy also indicates contamination. If pyuria (> 40 WBC) is present, and the specimen culture suggests contamination a repeat sample is advisable, if clinically indicated.

Is mixed growth in urine serious?

Mixed growth doubtful significance means a growth of more than one type of organism( a minimum of 3 organisms) in urine culture, and among the organisms, there is no predominating organism. This means the collected urine is contaminated during collection.

Is mixed growth in urine an infection?

mixed growth may indicate perineal contamination; however a small proportion of UTIs may be due to genuine mixed infection.

How do you tell if a urine culture is contaminated?

Definition of contamination Generally, UTI is suspected if culture counts of a pure or predominant growth of organism are ≥ 105 CFU/ml. Any counts below this with ≥ 2 organisms present may be indicative of contamination.

What does it mean when urine is contaminated?

If the urine is not collected in a sterile manner the urine sample may be ‘contaminated’ by bacteria that originate from the skin or genital area, and not from the urinary tract. This is often described by the clinical laboratory as ‘mixed growth bacteria’.

What is mixed bacteria in urine?

When 3 or more types of bacteria grow and no single one predominates (i.e., none is present at >100,000 CFU/mL), the results may be reported as “mixed bacterial flora.”

Why does my urine test keep coming back contaminated?

What is mixed bacterial flora?

What does growth in urine mean?

Contamination: If a culture shows growth of several different types of bacteria, then it is likely that the growth is due to contamination. This is especially true in voided urine samples if the organisms present include Lactobacillus and/or other common nonpathogenic vaginal bacteria in women.

Is bacteria in urine serious?

Most infections involve the lower urinary tract — the bladder and the urethra. Women are at greater risk of developing a UTI than are men. Infection limited to your bladder can be painful and annoying. However, serious consequences can occur if a UTI spreads to your kidneys.

What does mixed growth mean in a urine culture?

This is often described by the clinical laboratory as ‘mixed growth bacteria’. A contaminated sample may lead to a false-positive urine culture result. In a non-contaminated urine specimen, only a single bacterial growth is identified as the source of the infection.

What can cause a false positive urine culture?

A contaminated sample may lead to a false-positive urine culture result. In a non-contaminated urine specimen, only a single bacterial growth is identified as the source of the infection. Mixed bacterial flora with two or more microorganisms makes interpretation of the urine culture more difficult and prone to error.

What is the clinical significance of polymicrobial growth from urine cultures?

Urine cultures that contain more than one organism are usually considered contaminated. The frequency with which such growth truly represents mixed infection is unknown. Surprisingly few studies have evaluated the clinical significance of polymicrobial growth from urine. Such significance was demons …

Is there such a thing as mixed infection from urine?

DOI: 10.1097/00041552-199411000-00017 Abstract Urine cultures that contain more than one organism are usually considered contaminated. The frequency with which such growth truly represents mixed infection is unknown. Surprisingly few studies have evaluated the clinical significance of polymicrobial growth from urine.