RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Urinary Tract Symptoms: Microbiologic Evaluation In Rural Family Practice
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Practice
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 39
OP 45
DO 10.3122/jabfm.1.1.39
VO 1
IS 1
A1 Ronald E. Pinkerton
A1 Richard A. Garibaldi
A1 Carl Conrad
A1 Frank Bush
A1 Dewees H. Brown
A1 Marcia A. Testa
A1 Sebastian J. Gallo
A1 Trudy J. Lerer
A1 Ray Ryan
A1 Glen Aukerman
A1 Richard Tilton
YR 1988
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/1/1/39.abstract
AB In order to define the etiology of urinary symptoms in rural family practice, this study examines 106 patients (88 women, 18 men) who went to their family physicians in private practice or a resident-faculty practice with genitourinary symptoms. Evaluation of each patient included history, physical examination, urinalysis, and urine or cervical cultures for bacteria, Mycoplasma, and Chlamydia. Using agar plate culturing techniques, 37 patients (35 percent) were identified as having significant urine bacteria. Chlamydia was rarely associated with urinary tract symptoms. Mycoplasma hominis, however, was isolated and felt to be etiologic in 19 (22 percent) of the 88 symptomatic women (P = 0.0026). Older women (mean age 42 years, P < 0.001) with > 5 white blood cells per high-power field (WBC/hpf) on microscopic urinalysis (P < 0.001) were likely to have cystitis and significant bacteria on urine culture. Younger women (mean age 31 years, P < 0.001) with < 5 WBC/hpf (P < 0.001) had negative urine cultures and were likely to have M. hominis as a pathogen. These results demonstrate that the etiology of genitourinary symptoms seen in rural family practice may vary substantially from those seen in other patient care settings.