A Prospective Study of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Sexually Active Young Women

• Published in: The New England journal of medicine Vol. 343; no. 14; pp. 992 - 997
• Main Authors: Hooton, Thomas M, Scholes, Delia, Stapleton, Ann E, Roberts, Pacita L, Winter, Carol, Gupta, Kalpana, Samadpour, Mansour, Stamm, Walter E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, MA Massachusetts Medical Society 05.10.2000
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Bacteria; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the urinary system; Bacteriuria - complications; Bacteriuria - epidemiology; Bacteriuria - microbiology; Biological and medical sciences; Birth control; Coitus; Colony Count, Microbial; Contraceptive Devices, Female - adverse effects; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - classification; Escherichia coli - isolation & purification; Escherichia coli - pathogenicity; Escherichia coli Infections - etiology; Excretory system; Female; Health maintenance organizations; HMOs; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Incidence; Infections; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Methods; Multivariate Analysis; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Pyuria - complications; Risk Factors; Sexual Behavior; Spermatocidal Agents - adverse effects; Urinary Tract Infections - etiology; Urinary Tract Infections - microbiology; Urogenital system; Womens health; Kidney disease; Human; Urinary system disease; Bacteriuria; Pathogenesis; Asymptomatic; Urinary tract disease; Epidemiology; Incidence; Risk factor; Evolution; Female; Aggravation; Public health
• ISSN: 0028-4793; 1533-4406
• DOI: 10.1056/NEJM200010053431402

Quantitative analysis of bacteria in urine cultures was developed several decades ago 1 – 4 to establish reliable criteria for discriminating between infection and contamination in asymptomatic subjects, with the expectation that asymptomatic infection might be associated with pyelonephritis, hypertension, renal disease, and complications of pregnancy. 5 – 8 In studies of asymptomatic bacteriuria, counts of at least 10 5 colony-forming units per milliliter usually predicted persistently high levels of bacteriuria, whereas counts of less than 10 5 colony-forming units per milliliter usually meant persistently low levels of bacteriuria, with distinctive microflora for each group. 2 , 4 , 5 Moreover, high concentrations of pathogenic bacteria in serial voided . . .