Pyuria is the presence of pus in the urine. This pus is macroscopically visible, the urine shows a distinct cloudiness and occasionally has a putrid smell.
In the case of pyuria there are 10 or > 10 leucocytes per ml of urine or
> 100 leukocytes per visual field during laboratory diagnostic clarification.
A distinction is made between a:
Normally the urine is sterile. Only when > 10 bacteria / ml urine are detected, we speak of bacteriuria. Values of < 104 are a questionable contamination, values between > 10 4 to 105 indicate a borderline finding (only in the case of catheter urine does the number indicate a bacterial infection). However, if the number of bacteria increases > 10 5, a significant bacteriuria is present.
Pyuria is a frequently occurring symptom. It is found in 13.9% of women, whereas only 2.6% of men are affected. The reason for the gender difference is the anatomical conditions that cause women to develop infections in the pelvic and bladder area more often.
Sterile pyuria is found in:
Pyuria with concomitant leukocyturia is particularly common in:
Pyuria in itself is not a sign of a urinary tract infection and should not be treated as such.
It is important to diagnose pyuria and then to treat the underlying disease accordingly.
Patients with oliguria or anuria almost always have pyuria. Here too, antibiotic treatment should only be given if the uricult test is positive.