Without a Urinary Catheter

If U/A is negative for pyuria, positive cultures are likely contamination.

Positive cultures with pyuria are defined as ≥ 100,000 (10⁵) colonies. This cutoff is the most sensitive for a true UTI. Situations in which lower colony counts <10⁵ may be significant include: patients who are already on antibiotics at the time of culture, symptomatic young women, suprapubic aspiration, and men with pyuria.