Nitrite in Urine test coliform bacteria infection leukocyte esterase blood cell dysuria urgency fevers chills

Nitrite in Urine

Would you like to know what lab results mean? Medical Tests Analyzer Software will explain and clarify your lab test report.

The presence of nitrites in urine indicate the presence of coliform bacteria. This may be a sign of infection, however, the other parameters such as leukocyte esterase, urine white blood cell count, and symptoms such as dysuria, urgency, fevers and chills must be correlated to diagnose an infection.

A positive nitrite test indicates that bacteria may be present in significant numbers in urine. Gram negative rods such as E. coli are more likely to give a positive test.

Test results
Normal urine should contain no trace of nitrite. Positive nitrite test may indicative of:

·	Urinary tract infection

·	Bacterial infection:

E Coli

Salmonella

Citrobacter

Proteus

Clebsiella

Causes of false positive nitrite on Urinalysis:

·	Vaginal contaminant

·	Phenazopyridine

·	Dipstick exposed to air

Causes of false negative nitrite on Urinalysis:

·	Increased Urine Specific Gravity

·	Increased Urobilinogen

·	Bacteria lacking nitrate reductase enzyme

·	Urine pH <6.0

·	Vitamin C supplementation

·	Low nitrate diet

Also you should know
The detection of nitrite in the urine provides evidence for bacteriuria, in addition to the presence of leukocytes. Women are much more often affected by urinary tract infections than men. 20 percent of women develop at least one urinary tract infection during their lifetime, many suffer from recurrent infections.

Usually the bacteria found in the urine originate from the digestive tract. Therefore the most common organism responsible for urinary tract infections is E. coli. Other uropathogenic bacteria are, for example, Klebsiella, Salmonella, Enterococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp., and Pseudomonas.

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All information on this page is intended for your general knowledge only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.