Pyuria: its predictive value of asymptomatic bacteriuria in ambulatory elderly men

A total of 664 urine samples collected from 254 asymptomatic, ambulatory, elderly men was examined for pyuria with a standardized glass slide microscopy method. The presence or absence of more than 10 polymorphonuclear leukocytes per high power field was highly predictive of the presence or absence of significant bacteriuria, respectively. The determination of pyuria in this select population may be a useful and inexpensive test to screen for bacteriuria.