Medical Insider – Dr. Ria P. Maslog
Pyuria
This is a medical term that refers to the presence of at least 10 pus cells/hpf in the centrifuged urine.
Pyuria may or may
not be accompanied bY bacteriuria. A pyuria if without bacteriuria is called “sterile pyuria” and is seen in the following conditions:- non UTI febrile states
– dehydration
– starvation
– undernutrition
– urinary tract tuberculosis
– and glomerulonephritis
In the clinics, the presence of pyuria in the urinalysis may alert the physician to the diagnosis.
This is almost always noted together
with Urinary tract infection. The finding of pus cell clumps in microscopy may point to upper tract infection rather than lower tract involvement.
It is crucial to do urine culture since bacteriuria is central to the diagnosis of
UTI and not pyuria.