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THE ROLE OF PERIURETHRAL COLONIZATION IN THE AETIOLOGY OF RECURRENT URINARY INFECTION IN WOMEN
Author(s) -
Cooper J.,
Brumfitt W.,
HamiltonMiller J. M. T.,
Reynolds A. V.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1980.tb04488.x
Subject(s) - colonization , flora (microbiology) , etiology , urinary system , bacilli , colonisation , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , biology , bacteria , genetics
Summary Periurethral bacterial colonization was studied in two groups of women by taking samples with a polystyrene sponge. Just over half (56 per cent) of 81 sexually‐active women attending a family planning clinic were not colonized in the periurethral area; subjects who were colonized usually showed large numbers of a single bacterial species. On the other hand, all 38 patients who were attending a clinic because of recurrent urinary infections were colonized in the periurethral area; most of these yielded a heavy growth, and more than one bacterial species was usually isolated. Gram‐positive cocci predominated as the colonizing flora in both groups, a finding which is in marked contrast to the predominant aetiological agents in urinary infections, namely Gram‐negative bacilli. We therefore conclude that colonization of the periurethral area is not the decisive event in the initiation of a urinary infection.