A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

Culture, Urine

Test Code
CXURN


Alias/See Also
Urine Culture, Clean catch Urine, Culture Urine


CPT Codes
87088

Includes
Culture, Identification, and sensitivity.
Additional charges and CPT codes for identification and sensitivity.


Preferred Specimen
Early morning Clean Catch Urine
UZO (Urine Grey Micro Vacutainer)


Other Acceptable Specimens
  1. Clean-Catch Urines
    1. Clean and rinse genital area before collecting specimen (disposable towelettes or equivalent).
    2. Collect the midstream portion of urine in a STERILE container.
    3. Bedpan or Urinal specimens are NOT acceptable.
  2. Straight Catheter – In/Out Catheter Urines
    1. Clean and rinse genital area before collecting specimen (disposable towelettes or equivalent).
    2. Insert catheter and discard the initial 15-30 mls of urine from the mouth of the catheter.
    3. Collect sample of urine into a STERILE container.
  3. Indwelling Catheter Urine
    1. Clean the catheter collection port with a 70% alcohol wipe.
    2. Using sterile technique, puncture the collection port with a needle attached to a syringe.Note:Do not collect urine from the catheter collection bag.


Specimen Stability
Transport urine to the laboratory as soon as possible after collection (within 1 hour) or transfer urine to a Urine Grey Vacutainer.

Sterile Urine Containers:  Refrigerated urine specimens may be held up to 24 h because bacterial counts usually remain stable for 24 h at 4oC. 
Grey Urine Vacutainer:  Specimen sent in BD Vacutainer urine preservative transport tubes are preserved at room temperature or refrigeration for up to 48 hours.   If preservative tubes are used, place at least 3 ml urine into these tubes to avoid an inhibiting or diluting effect on the microorganisms.


Reject Criteria (Eg, hemolysis? Lipemia? Thaw/Other?)
Request a new urine specimen when there is no evidence of refrigeration and the specimen is >2 h old and is not in a GREY vacutainer.
NOTES:  Request a new specimen when the collection time and method of collection have not been provided.
If an improperly collected, transported, or handled specimen cannot be replaced, documentation will be included in the final report that specimen quality may have been compromised.


Setup Schedule
24x7


Reference Range
Reporting Options:
  • Preliminary:  No Growth
  • Final:  No Growth
  • Final:  Mixed Flora   (with quantitation)
    • Quantitate results. Greater than 100,000 (105) is an important threshold for patient diagnosis. Less than 10,000 (104) is usually contamination. The importance of colony counts depends on patient's symptoms, antibiotic treatment, WBCs present, type of specimen and other factors.
  • "Positive" growth will include Identification and sensitivities, as applicable.  Some antibiotic resistent indicators such as ESBL, MRSA, VRE, etc may be considered critical and phoned to the provider.


Clinical Significance

Urine specimens are submitted for culture from patients with symptoms of urinary tract infections and from asymptomatic patients with a high risk of infection. The etiologic agents of urinary tract infections most commonly isolated in hospital and outpatients are Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp., Klebsiella-Enterobacter spp. Proteus spp, and Pseudomonas spp.



Pyuria along with bacteriuria is also an important factor in establishing the presence of a urinary tract infection. 




Performing Laboratory
CRMC Microbiology Laboratory



The CPT Codes provided in this document are based on AMA guidelines and are for informational purposes only. CPT coding is the sole responsibility of the billing party. Please direct any questions regarding coding to the payor being billed. Any Profile/panel component may be ordered separately. Reflex tests are performed at an additional charge.