1+ WBC Esterase with a negitive for UTI

[dlmiller1955]

if you get back a 1+ WBC Esterase with a negitive for UTI whayt does that mean
it show abnornal in paperwork

[LD_RN]

yep, that's exactly what the doctor the time before diagnosed her with. my 90 yo grandmother refuses to go see the urologist that the primary referred her to and due to her frequent urination (or urgency, w/o urine), she has made herself homebound. now a doctor is coming to house, as well as, home healthcare.... me being her primary RN. the doctor prescribed Ditropan 5mg qd about x2 wks ago but she still is having the same issues, except she doesn't go as often as she was.... ugh!! now what?

[Becky7795]

You need to have the test repeated. Straight Cath perferably so that no contamination can occur and screw up the test. But either way if the results still come back negative for a UTI and you show symptoms of one than you may have a condition called INTERSTISIAL CYSTITIS which the long story short is just like a UTI but without infection or bacteria bieng present, Normally having just 1÷ of WBC can be a false positive or inaccurate test prepping bieng done (Basically fudging up the test by not doing it correctly getting the WBC's in there on accident) Or say to heck with it all and just treat it in case if there are symptoms present,

[mkh9]

Hi dlmiller,
Well Leucocyte esterase is a test to check for white blood cells in the urine. When there is a urinary tract infection the wbcs, release leucocyte esterase. Most of the time the nitrate test will also be positive and this really indicates you have a UTI or upper urinary tract infection. Since your nitrate was negative then can you tell me if when you collected the urine sample were you on your period or had a heavy mucus discharge as well as Trichomoas infections will all cause a fause positive result for leucocyte esterase. If not then some bacteria can be positve for LE without the nitrate being positive. Do you have symptoms of a UTI? Usually, that is bad burning when you urinate and discomfort and frequent urge to urinate. Sometimes you can get kidney pain too. They should have done a culture to check. If they didn't I would ask them why and see what they say. If your culture is negative you don't have a UTI. It may be something else. So, don't be afraid to ask the nurse or doctor on the phone if they did a culture on you. It usually takes about one to  two days to get final results. Also, since it was 1+ that means it is a low amount present but negative is the normal value for this test. Let me know if you have any more questions, in the meantime if you feel you have a UTI you can drink a lot of cranberry juice ( a couple of liters or more a day) and it will clear but take a lot longer than antibiotics.

mkh9