ISSN:
1471-0528
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
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.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1980.tb04488.x
