Awanui labs Auckland is improving the quality of patient results by implementing a pre–analytical diagnostic stewardship initiative for community-acquired urinary tract infections.   This involves the requirement for an appropriate symptom-based clinical indication for urine culture requests. 

From 26 August 2024, urine culture requests with either no clinical details or inappropriate/irrelevant clinical details on the request form* will not be processed.   If urine culture is still required, the requestor will need to arrange a recollect, and ensure that this submitted to the laboratory with an appropriate indication for culture documented on the request form (this is because a urine specimen that is >24 hours old is unsuitable for culture, as it is likely to have overgrowth of contaminating organisms). 

^* For further information on the basis and rationale for this initiative, please refer to this newsletter. 

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.