A Randomized Clinical Trial of Standard versus Expanded Cultures to Diagnose Urinary Tract Infections in Women
Hayley C. Barnes, Birte Wolff, Omar Abdul-Rahim, A. Harrington, Evann E. Hilt, Travis K. Price, Thomas Halverson, Baylie Hochstedler, Thythy Pham, Marian Acevedo‐Alvarez, Cara Joyce, Colleen M. Fitzgerald, Paul C. Schreckenberger, Linda Brubaker, Alan J. Wolfe, Elizabeth R. Mueller
Abstract
PURPOSE: We compared urinary tract infection (UTI) symptom resolution rates at 7-10 days in symptomatic women randomized to treatment based on standard urine culture (SUC) versus expanded quantitative urine culture (EQUC) results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women ≥18 years old who responded "yes" to "do you feel you have a UTI?" agreed to urethral catheterization and followup. Symptoms were assessed using the validated UTI Symptom Assessment (UTISA) questionnaire. Culture method was randomized 2:1 (SUC:EQUC); antibiotics were prescribed to women with positive cultures. The primary outcome, UTI symptom resolution, was determined 7-10 days following enrollment on all participants regardless of treatment. RESULTS: (76), there was a trend toward more symptom resolution in the EQUC arm (21%, p=0.08). CONCLUSIONS: uropathogens, the detected trend indicates that this understudied clinical subset warrants further study.