What does sensitivity mean in urine culture?

There are two types of sensitivity in urine culture tests – absolute and relative. Absolute sensitivity means that the bacteria present in the sample are susceptible to the specific antibiotics being used to treat the infection. This is important because bacteria can become resistant to one antibiotic if it is used too often. By determining the sensitivity of the bacteria to the drugs being used, the healthcare provider can prescribe the right medication to clear the infection.

What does sensitivity mean in urine culture results?

If bacteria are found in the urine sample, the culture should be considered sensitive if the number of bacteria is lower than the level at which infection is not very likely to occur, i.e. the bacteria count is lower than 10 colony forming units per mL of urine.

What does a negative urine culture mean?

A negative culture means that no bacteria were found in the sample. This test can be used to confirm other tests that came back negative. For example, when another test came back negative for strep throat, your doctor might order a culture to confirm that you don’t have strep throat. In other words, a negative culture confirms that you don’t have the condition that the test was looking for, which is important because antibiotics are not effective against viruses.

What does sensitivity mean in blood culture?

When a culture is collected from blood, the lab will report on how sensitive the bacteria was to the antibiotics used to treat infection. If the bacteria are susceptible to the antibiotic, then it’s a false positive report. If the bacteria are resistant to the antibiotic, then it’s a true infection.

What does a negative urine culture mean to you?

A negative urine culture means that there was no growth of microorganisms in your urine. While this does not always equate to infection, it is nonetheless important. There are often other biological fluids that contain bacteria as well, such as semen, vaginal fluid, or mucus. A negative urine culture doesn't mean that bacteria isn't present in any of these other places.