Evaluation of an office method of detecting bacteriuria

Although catheter-associated UTI continues to be the leading cause of nosocomial infection, epidemiological investigation of catheter use in many hospitals may be precluded by the reluctance of the laboratory to process the large number of urine cultures. We have evaluated the use by Nurse Epidemiologists of Bacturcult tubes for such purposes. The urine of 111 catheterized patients was cultured daily using both the Bacturcult and streak plate method until significant bacteriuria developed (greater than 10(5) colonies/ml). Bacturcult proved as accurate as the conventional technique in detecting bacteriuria. In contrast to previous studies, the daily incidence of infection rose with increasing duration of catheterization. Concomitant antibiotic usage reduced the risk of infection but selected out multi-drug resistant organisms. Older age and procedural errors also increased the risk of infection. The study took 150 hours to complete and cost about $250. It is concluded that Bacturcult is an accurate, simple and relatively inexpensive method of detecting bacteriuria and could be useful for investigating the epidemiology of catheter-associated infections in community hospitals.