Fungal Culture Random Urine

Fungal culture random urine is performed on a sample of urine collected randomly to check for the fungal growth in the urine. This test helps to know whether you have urinary tract fungal infections or not.

What are urinary tract fungal infections?

Fungal organisms are found anywhere in the environment. They exist as two forms yeasts and molds. The fungal organisms that exhibit a temperature-dependent switch between these two forms are known as dimorphic. These organisms can cause infections in individuals with poor immunity.

Candida species are the most common form of yeasts that cause fungal infections. Cryptococcus species are another form of yeasts which can cause infections especially in individuals with poor immunity. Aspergillus genus members are a form of molds which can cause diseases and can trigger the allergic reactions in many individuals. Rhizopus, Mucor, Rhizomucor etc are other forms of molds that rarely cause infection. Histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, sporotrichosis, coccidioidomycosis, paracoccidioidomycosis, and chromoblastomycosis are fungi that are dimorphic in nature. These fungal organisms exist as yeast form in infected individuals (host) and as a mold form in the environment.

Urinary tract infections are infections that can happen anywhere in the urinary tract. Urinary infections can be a bacterial or fungal infection. Fungal infections are less common as compared to bacterial infections. Fungal urinary infections can occur mainly in individuals who have poor immunity. Candida species are the most common cause for the urinary tract fungal infections. The fungal infection due to the Candida species in the urinary tract is known as candiduria.

Individuals with candiduria generally do not show any symptoms. However, signs and symptoms of candiduria include fever, chills, mild urethral itching, watery discharge, increased urgency or frequency of urination, back pain, painful or burning urination, etc. Candida species, dimorphic fungi, Aspergillus species, Talaromyces marneffei, Trichosporon species, etc are the common fungal organisms that cause urinary tract fungal infections.

Why this test is performed?

This test is performed as part of routine health screening or to determine the presence of fungal growth in the urine. Your doctor may ask to perform this test if you experience any signs and symptoms of candiduria such as fever, chills, mild urethral itching, watery discharge, increased urgency or frequency of urination, back pain, painful or burning urination, etc. This test is also performed to monitor and evaluate the treatment effectiveness in individuals receiving treatment for urinary tract fungal infections. However, your doctor may ask to perform a susceptibility testing on the fungi isolated from this culture test to determine the antifungal treatment.

The test results may be vary depending on gender, age, health conditions, and other factors.

If the culture test is positive it may indicate the growth of fungal organisms in the urine sample. It may indicate the presence of urinary tract fungal infections. However, a few more additional tests may also be performed depending on the suspected cause and typical results, along with the physical symptoms to diagnose the exact infection.

If the culture test is negative it means no growth of fungal organisms is detected from the urine sample

Based on the test results, your doctor may advise you appropriate medical treatments or further diagnostic tests.