Midstream Urine Samples in Children: Clean First, Then Collect

Cleaning the perineum or genitals before obtaining a midstream urine sample was associated with lower rates of bacterial contamination.

In several adult studies, contamination rates were similar for midstream clean-catch and non–clean-catch urine samples. In a randomized trial, researchers compared perineal or genital cleaning (retracting the foreskin for noncircumcised boys or spreading the labia for girls, and wiping with gauze and liquid soap) with no cleaning before collection of midstream urine samples in 350 toilet-trained children (age range, 2–18 years; 60% girls) who provided samples for an emergency department medical assessment. Younger children were assisted by their parents.

Contaminated samples (<100,000 colony-forming units/mL of a single organism or a mix of 2 or more organisms) were significantly less common in children in the clean-catch group than in contr…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Midstream Urine Samples in Children: Clean First, Then Collect

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Reviewing Author