Unsuspected urinary infection in general practice

A SURVEY was undertaken to find the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in people in normal health who were patients of members of the North-west Faculty of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Midstream specimens were collected from 341 males and 456 females seen in visits to 19 practices in Lancashire and Cheshire. Three males and 45 females had > 10(5) bacteria/ml; three males and 26 females had > 50 pus cells/cu mm. Both significant bacteriuria and pyuria were found in three males and seven females. The percentage incidence varied in each practice from 0-24 per cent. About one third of the patients with significant bacteriuria or pyuria had urinary symptoms, but there were also 53 males and 104 females, who had urinary symptoms, whose urine was normal.The highest attendances were in those practices where the family doctor made the initial approach to the subjects.