Current Pyuria Cutoffs Promote Inappropriate Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis in Older Women

Abstract Background Pre-existing lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), cognitive impairment, and the high prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) complicate the diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) in older women. The presence of pyuria remains the cornerstone of UTI diagnosis. However, >90% of ASB patients have pyuria, prompting unnecessary treatment. We quantified pyuria by automated microscopy and flowcytometry to determine the diagnostic accuracy for UTI and to derive pyuria thresholds for UTI in older women. Methods Women ≥65 years with ≥2 new-onset LUTS and 1 uropathogen ≥104 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL were included in the UTI group. Controls were asymptomatic and classified as ASB (1 uropathogen ≥105 CFU/mL), negative culture, or mixed flora. Patients with an indwelling catheter or antimicrobial pretreatment were excluded. Leukocyte medians were compared and sensitivity–specificity pairs were derived from a receiver operating characteristic curve. Results We included 164 participants. UTI patients had higher median urinary leukocytes compared with control patients (microscopy: 900 vs 26 leukocytes/µL; flowcytometry: 1575 vs 23 leukocytes/µL; P < .001). Area under the curve was 0.93 for both methods. At a cutoff of 264 leukocytes/µL, sensitivity and specificity of microscopy were 88% (positive and negative likelihood ratio: 7.2 and 0.1, respectively). The commonly used cutoff of 10 leukocytes/µL had a poor specificity (36%) and a sensitivity of 100%. Conclusions The degree of pyuria can help to distinguish UTI in older women from ASB and asymptomatic controls with pyuria. Current pyuria cutoffs are too low and promote inappropriate UTI diagnosis in older women. Clinical Trials Registration. International Clinical Trials Registry Platform: NL9477 (https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=NL9477) The degree of pyuria can help distinguish urinary tract infection (UTI) in older women from asymptomatic women with and without bacteriuria. We demonstrate that current pyuria cutoffs are too low, promoting inappropriate diagnosis and treatment of UTI.