الفهرس 
AcknowledgementOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
UTls, including cystitis, pyelonephritis, asymptomatic bacteriuria and acute urethral syndrome, constitute one of the most frequent causes of illness in humans, affecting all ages and both sexes, although not equally.(165,210) Quantitative urine culture is considered the standard procedure for diagnosis of UTls.(2,210,219). In many developing countries including Egypt, bacteriological culture is not yet included in the duties of the comprehensive health center laboratories, and the diagnosis is based mainly on detecting pus cells in urine supported by the patient’s urinary signs and symptoms,(179) which are non-specific indicators of UTl.(111) Several rapid methods have been developed for characterizing bacteriuria in an attempt to reduce the cost and time expanded in examining negative cultures. They include microscopic examination, chemical tests, and automated systems.(101,210) The present study aimed at: 1- Identifying and estimating the prevalence of different bacteria causing UTl in the studied population, as well as determining their antibiotic sensitivity patterns. 2- Studying the validity of some rapid screening tests. The study involved 300 patients (261 females and 39 males) clinically suspected to have UTl, attending Smouha Health Center in Alexandria. A full relevant information sheet was fulfilled for each patient. Clean-catch mid stream urine samples were obtained from all the studied population. All urine samples were subjected to direct microscopic examination of stained and unstained smears, and quantitative and qualitative culture on blood agar and MacConkey’s agar. Over night incubation at 37oC under aerobic conditions was followed by full identification of isolates. The identified isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility tests by the disc diffusion method. Urine samples were tested by COMBR 10 urine test strips to detect the presence of leucocyte esterase and nitrite. Results of this study revealed that: • Significant bacteriuria was found in 59.30 of the studied specimens, inconclusive bacteriuria (S.epidermidis ? 103-<105 cfu/ ml and dephtheroids, S.viridans and micrococci ?