The reliability of midstream urine culture from circumcised male infants

The reliability of midstream urine culture from circumcised male infants was studied in 60 infants aged 1 to 21 weeks. A midstream urine specimen was collected after cleansing the penis. When the bladder was full again, a suprapubic bladder aspiration (SPA) was also performed. The results of the urine cultures were almost identical in specimens obtained midstream and by SPA. In 37 infants the cultures were sterile and in 13 positive, with the same microorganism being cultured in both instances. In one case, few colonies of Staphylococcus epidermidis grew only from the midstream culture. In nine infants, only midstream specimens were obtained because three attempts at SPA were unsuccessful. These results suggest that in circumcised male infants, the midstream method of obtaining urine for a culture is as reliable as SPA.