BERKELEY, CA (UroToday Inc.) - Urinary tact infections (UTI) are a common problem, especially in women. The exact incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in young girls in not known. Dr. Yasa Ali Oner and colleagues from Istanbul, Turkey and Gorgan, Iran performed a study to determine the incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in 14 to17 year old school girls. Their findings were published in the December 2004 edition of Urologia Internationalis.

They collected midstream urine samples from 966 female students 14 to 17 years old. Students were instructed on how to properly collect a midstream urine sample. These samples were then cultured. Bacteriuria was defined as having greater than 100,000 colonies/cm3. If the initial result was positive, urine was recultured to corroborate the first culture.

3.3% (32/966) of the subjects were found to have bacteruria. The most common bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli (74%), Proteus mirabilis (18.7%), and Klebsiella pneumonia (6.3%). When stratified according to age, the frequency of asymptomatic bacteriuria increased with age from 2.5% in the 14 years olds, to 6.4% in the 17 year olds. Pyuria was found in 37.5% of those with bacteruria.

The authors concluded that the presence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in this group of school girls was higher than previous reports. They believe that increased education regarding urinary hygiene should be implemented if they were to have a healthier community of young women in Turkey and Iran.

Urol Int 2004:73:325-328