Yale studies of patient care. II. The use of urine culture in the management of urinary tract infections.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common medical problem. The diagnosis and management of urinary tract infections is an important and frequent clinical task. Symptoms and routine urine analysis are not consistent or reliable indicators of UTI; a quantitative culture of the urine is necessary for a definitive diagnosis (1-3). Because symptoms and urine analysis are of questionable value in documenting persistence of infection, a follow-up quantitative urine culture is necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of antimicrobial therapy (1-5). The purpose of this study was to investigate how the results of quantitative urine cultures were used in the management of patients with UTI, symptoms of UTI, or conditions that predispose to UTI.