Urine culture test and urinalysis are similar in that you need to provide a urine sample for both. Urinalysis is done first. This quicker test looks for red and white blood cells and bacteria that can indicate an infection. It’s a screening test that lets lab specialist to know if they should do a urine culture test to grow microorganisms and identify the specific bacteria or fungus causing a UTI.

A strong, frequent urge to urinate, even when you have just gone and there is little urine voided Pain and/or a burning sensation during urination Cloudy, strong-smelling urine Lower back pain

f your urine culture is positive and you have symptoms of an infection, it means you have a UTI. If they haven’t already, you will takea medication to treat the infection. You can also have bacteria in your pee without any symptoms (asymptomatic bacteriuria). If the lab ran an antibiotic sensitivity test, you may see the following results: Susceptible. This means the medicine worked to stop the growth or kill the specific bacteria or fungus grown in your culture. It should be the first choice to treat the infection. Intermediate. This means the medicine had some effect on stopping the bacteria or fungus. At higher doses, it might be effective for treating the infection. Resistant. This means the medicine didn’t work to stop or kill the bacteria or fungus. It shouldn’t be used to treat the infection.

negative, or normal, urine culture test result means the urine sample showed no signs of bacteria or yeast. You don’t have a UTI. The range for normal test results can vary depending on the lab doing the test. There can be other causes of UTI-like symptoms, such as period-related changes, kidney stones or bladder masses. If you continue to have pain when you pee, an urgent or frequent need to pee, or blood in your pee (hematuria), you should have more testing to find the cause.

It takes from 48 - 72 hours to get the result