Contamination of urine specimens from women with acute dysuria did not differ with collection technique
QUESTION: Does contamination of urine specimens from women with acute dysuria differ with collection technique (midstream, midstream plus vaginal tampon, or no cleansing)?
Design
Randomised {allocation not concealed}*, blinded (outcome assessors), controlled trial.
Setting
An outpatient clinic at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.
Patients
242 consecutive women (mean age 21 y), mostly undergraduates, with symptoms suggestive of cystitis. Exclusion criteria were antibiotic use or urethral instrumentation in the previous 7 days, or known urological abnormality or nephrolithiasis. Follow up was complete.
Intervention
84 women were allocated to midstream collection and were instructed to cleanse the perineum with a bactericidal wipe by wiping from front to rear, to spread the labia, discard the first urine output, and then collect a midstream specimen in a clean, non-sterile container. 81 women were …
