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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Urol. 2017 Jan 4;14(2):72–74. doi: 10.1038/nrurol.2016.262

Figure 1. Urine is not sterile.

Figure 1

This urine sample was obtained by transurethral catheter from a woman seeking urogynaecology care, a | 1 μl urine was spread on a blood agar plate and incubated for 24 h at 35°C at ambient atmosphere. This technique is part of the standard urine culture protocol. b | 100 μl urine from the same patient was spread on a blood agar plate and incubated at 35 °C for 48h. Increased growth of bacterial colonies can be seen, demonstrating that the urine sample was not sterile, despite being obtained directly via a transurethral catheter. This technique is one of many growth conditions that comprise the enhanced quantitative urine culture (EQUC) protocol. Reprinted with permission from College of American Pathologists. CAP Today. Aug. 2016.