Urine culture (clean catch)

Alternative names:

clean catch urine specimen; collecting a urine specimen; culture - urine (clean catch); urine collection (clean catch)

How the test is performed:

Child or adult:
Collect a "clean-catch" ("midstream") urine sample. To obtain a clean-catch sample, men or boys should wipe clean the head of the penis. Women or girls need to wash the area between the lips of the vagina with soapy water and rinse well. As you start to urinate, allow a small amount to fall into the toilet bowl (this clears the urethra of contaminants). Then, in a clean container, catch about 1 to 2 ounces of urine and remove the container from the urine stream. Give the container to the health care provider or assistant.

Infant:
Thoroughly wash the area around the urethra. Open a urine collection bag (a plastic bag with an adhesive paper on one end), and place it on your infant. For males, the entire penis can be placed in the bag and the adhesive attached to the skin. For females, the bag is placed over the labia. Place a diaper over the infant (bag and all). Check your baby frequently and remove the bag after the infant has urinated into it. For active infants, this procedure may take a couple of attempts--lively infants can displace the bag, causing an inability to obtain the specimen. The urine is drained into a container for transport back to the health care provider.

A dipstick test may be used to detect some chemicals or bacteria in the urine. Move the dipstick into the urine stream directly before or after you collect the sample in the container. This can help detect nitrites (the result of bacteria changes on nitrate) or leukocytes (white blood cells) in the urine.

How to prepare for the test:

A specimen container and instructions on cleansing and collection will be provided. Inform the health care provider if you are using, or have recently used, antibiotics.

If the collection is being taken from an infant, a couple of extra collection bags may be necessary.

How the test will feel:

The test involves only normal urination, and there is no discomfort.

Why the test is performed:

The clean-catch method is used to avoid contaminating the urine sample with bacteria that are normally present in the urethra and appear in a voided urine sample. It is used for a routine urinalysis, a urine culture, or other urine tests that require uncontaminated urine for accurate results.