The provision of clinical details for urine specimens collected for investigation of urinary tract  infection or red cell count monitoring is critical to ensure samples are processed optimally.  Since the 28 January, clinical details have been mandatory and samples have not been processed until clinical details have been provided.

From 3 March, 2025 urine culture requests with either no clinical details or inappropriate/irrelevant clinical details on the request form will not be processed and the requestor will need to arrange a recollect and ensure that this submitted to the laboratory with an appropriate indication for culture or cell count documented on the request form.

Requests to process rejected urine samples will not be accepted because it is impractical for lab staff to hunt for old samples. Moreover, urine samples >24 hours old are suboptimal for microscopy and culture due to breakdown of cells and overgrowth of bacteria.

Placing the urine culture request via e-order is strongly advised as it will facilitate appropriate requesting.  This diagnostic stewardship initiative aligns with local and international best practice and is expected to increase appropriate laboratory processing and enable correct interpretation of urine culture results, thus improving patient outcomes.

If no relevant or inappropriate/irrelevant clinical details are provided the samples will not be processed and clinician will be required to organise a recollect if required.