This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Kass criterion

Authoring team

The Kass criterion describes the likelihood of a urinary tract infection from a mid stream urine specimen. The lower limit of significance is 10 power 8 bacteria/litre in a properly collected specimen, preferably on 2 occasions, and the presence of more than 100 white cells per high power field.

This result should be applied with caution, as:

  • different bacteria multiply at different rates
  • frequency of urine can interfere with the result
  • in some women bacteria may come from a urethral lesion where bacteria may not get the opportunity to multiply
  • in men, counts may be low due to prostatic antibacterial factor
  • in some infections, for example proteus, low levels of bacteria can still predispose to stone formation

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.