Your urine is usually pure. This indicates that there are no bacterial growths. However, bacteria are typically present and growing in your urine if you are experiencing the signs of a bladder or urinary tract infection.
Urine test showed UTI without Symptoms, is it strange? Even if you are symptom-free, your doctor may occasionally check the bacteria in your urine. You have asymptomatic bacteriuria if there are enough bacteria found in your urine.
Many people, including healthy women and women with underlying urological issues, frequently experience asymptomatic bacteriuria. The details are covered in the article that follows.
Read more: How to Know UTI is Gone: Signs to Pay Attention – Elder VIP
Why Urine Test Show UTI Without Symptoms?
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the infections that are most frequently treated with antibiotics. Both straightforward and complex cases are given treatment recommendations. Asymptomatic bacteriuria is the term for when a patient has bacteria in their urine but is unaware of it.
Usually, your urine is sterile, but if you have the symptoms of a kidney or bladder infection, that means bacteria is current and multiplying in your urine. When bacteria are found in a urine culture but there are no visible symptoms of a UTI, asymptomatic bacteriuria is diagnosed. Traditional UTI symptoms include fever, frequent and painful urination, and frequent urination. When examining urine under a microscope, more than 10 white blood cells are frequently linked to asymptomatic bacteriuria.
Asymptomatic bacteriuria is frequently found in healthy females, as well as in males and females with other urinary tract conditions that make urinating challenging. When a significant number of bacteria show up in the urine, this is called “bacteriuria.” A urinary tract infection could be present if bacteria are found in the urine. The urinary tract is the system that includes:
- The kidneys, which make urine
- The ureters – thin tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder
- The bladder, where urine can be stored
- The urethra is the body’s final exit point for urine after leaving the bladder.
How to Diagnosis Asymptomatic Bacteriuria?
You will be required to give a clean-catch urine sample to your doctor. A sterile container and instructions on how to clean the region around the urethra will be provided to you. Do not touch the container.
The urine sample will be sent to the laboratory where a urine culture is performed. The urine culture will determine if there are bacteria in your urine. The diagnosis of asymptomatic bacteriuria requires:
- A urine culture that is positive for a large number of bacteria
- You don’t exhibit any urinary tract infection symptoms.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends the following when it comes to screening for asymptomatic bacteriuria:
- Children and infants shouldn’t be screened for and treated for asymptomatic bacteriuria.
- Healthy premenopausal, non-pregnant, or post-menopausal women shouldn’t typically undergo screening.
- Asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women needs to be screened for and treated.
- It is not recommended to screen older people for asymptomatic bacteriuria who reside in functionally compromised community housing.
- Patients with kidney transplants who underwent surgery less than a month ago are not advised to undergo screening.
How to Treat Asymptomatic Bacteriuria?
The majority of people with asymptomatic pyuria or bacteriuria won’t be treated. According to studies, treating asymptomatic bacteriuria does not shield patients from developing further urinary tract infections. It is, however, associated with future problems with antibiotic use and the development of future UTIs that are antibiotic-resistant.
These generalizations are not universal, though.
Women with diabetes: In studies, women with diabetes initially show no difference in asymptomatic bacteriuria from those without bacteria in the urine in terms of increased mortality, UTI risk, or diabetic complications after 18 months. In one study, women with asymptomatic bacteriuria and diabetes were treated with antibiotics versus not treated at all. It demonstrated that, after a 3-year follow-up, neither the frequency of UTIs with symptoms nor the rate of UTI hospitalization was decreased by antibiotic treatment.
Nonpregnant, premenopausal women: Usually, these women with asymptomatic bacteriuria don’t experience any negative effects. Most people’s bacteriuria will go away on its own. But compared to women who have not had asymptomatic bacteriuria, these women are much more likely to have recurrent UTIs with symptoms.
Pregnant women with asymptomatic bacteriuria: When compared to those who do not have asymptomatic bacteriuria, pregnant women with infection are more likely to deliver a low-birth-weight or premature baby and are up to 30 times more likely to develop pyelonephritis during pregnancy. Research has reported that treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria in those that are pregnant decreases pyelonephritis risk from up to 35% to about 4%. Treatment of bacteriuria with antibiotics enhances fetal outcomes and lowers the incidence of small and preterm births.
Long-term care: Studies on asymptomatic bacteriuria in pre- and post-menopausal women reveal similar results regardless of age. After receiving antibiotic treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria, ambulatory women in long-term care facilities saw a reduction in the occurrence of symptomatic bacteriuria at six months.
How to Prevent Asymptomatic Bacteriuria?
Drinking several glasses of water each day may help you avoid bacteriuria. Although this has not been proven, flushing your urinary tract may prevent the growth of bacteria. Daily cranberry juice consumption may also inhibit bacterial growth. But this also has not been definitively shown through medical studies.
To prevent the spread of intestinal bacteria from the rectum to the urinary tract, women should always wipe toilet tissue from the front to back after having a bowel movement.
Conclusion
When you have a urine test that reveals the presence of a UTI but no actual symptoms, it’s time to consider whether you have asymptomatic bacteriuria. For most people, asymptomatic bacteriuria does not cause any problems and does not require treatment. If you do get a urinary tract infection, it will almost always go away with prompt antibiotic treatment.
FAQs
What is the Most Common Organism Causing Asymptomatic Bacteriuria?
Escherichia coli is the most common specimen found in patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria. However, infectious agents can come from a variety of sources, including the Enterobacteriaceae family, the Enterococcus species Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and group B streptococcus.
Does Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Need Treatment?
Most patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria won’t ever experience symptomatic urinary tract infections, and they won’t suffer any negative effects as a result of their asymptomatic bacteriuria. Only patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria that will benefit from treatment should be treated, and most patients will not benefit from treatment.
