Asymptomatic Bacteriuria

• Asymptomatic bacteriuria is defined as the isolation of >10⁵ CFU/mL of a single bacterial species in a specimen (men, catheters) or two consecutive specimens (women) in appropriately collected urine obtained from a person without symptoms of urinary infection.

• Asymptomatic bacteriuria is of limited clinical significance and should not be treated except in pregnant women or patients undergoing urologic surgery. Pregnant women should have screening urine culture near the end of the first trimester and be treated if positive. Treatment is not recommended for asymptomatic bacteriuria in the elderly, diabetics, institutionalized patients, spinal cord injury patients, or catheterized patients.