Bacteriological diagnostic of urinary tract infections

A technical revision

Abstract

Urinary tract infection is one of the most common diseases and it can affect more than one site or one single place like urethra (urethritis), prostate (prostatitis), urinary bladder (cystitis) or kidney (pielonephritis). Urine is considered sterile and may suffer bacterial contamination from skin, clothes or external genitals, so it should be collected, kept and transported appropriately, to avoid false results in laboratory analysis. Urethritis and cistitis non gonococcal are commonly caused by members of Enterobacteriacea family but Escherichia coli is the casual agent of approximately 80% of the cases between fertile age women without urinary tract leison. Other microrganisms including Klebsiella sp., Enterobacter sp., Proteus sp., Pseudomonas sp and the Enterococcus sp are frequently found in patients with obstructive leisons or paralytical diseases affecting the renal function. Staphylococcus saprophyticus is an important opportunistic pathogenin human urinary tract infections, especially in young, sexually active females. The patient must be informed about the recommended procedures related to the collect time, way of obyaining and all the necessary asepsis, such as the professional must be up to date about the techniques utilized for the isolation, identification and susceptibility test of the microrganism. Currently, there are chemical and authomatical methods and excelent kits for laboratorial diagnosis of urinary infections, helping and accelerating the process of identification and efficient treatment to the infected patient.