<p><span class="minusOne"></span><a name="Causes, incidence, and risk factors"></a><p><strong><span class="minusOne">Causes</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><span class="minusOne"><p>Asymptomatic bacteriuria occurs in up to 6% of healthy individuals. It affects 18% of people with diabetes (mostly women), and 20% of elderly individuals (more often women than men). The reasons for the lack of symptoms are not well understood.</p><p>Most patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria do not need treatment because the bacteria isn't causing any harm. However, certain groups are at a higher risk for kidney infections if they develop asymptomatic bacteriuria. Those at risk include:</p><ul> <li>People with diabetes </li> <li>Elderly people </li> <li>Pregnant women -- if asymptomatic bacteriuria is left untreated, up to 40% will develop a kidney infection. </li> <li>Kidney transplant patients </li> <li>Young children with vesicoureteral reflux </li> <li>Patients with infected kidney stones </li></ul></span><a name="Symptoms"></a><p><strong><span class="minusOne">Symptoms</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><span class="minusOne"><p>By definition, asymptomatic bacteriuria causes no symptoms. The symptoms of a urinary tract infection include burning during urination, an increased urgency to urinate, and increased frequency of urination.</p></span><a name="Signs and tests"></a><p><strong><span class="minusOne">Exams and Tests</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><span class="minusOne"><p>Asymptomatic bacteriuria is detected by the discovery of significant number bacterial growth in a urine culture taken from a urine sample.</p></span><a name="Treatment"></a><p><strong><span class="minusOne">Treatment</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><span class="minusOne"><p>Not all patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria respond to treatment or even need treatment. Pregnant women, kidney transplant recipients, children with vesicoureteral reflux, and people with infected kidney stones appear to be more likely to benefit from treatment with antibiotics.</p><p>In addition, if asymptomatic bacteriuria is found prior to a urological procedure, it should be treated to prevent complications of the procedure. The course of bacteria treatment in these cases depends on the urine that occurs without person's risk factors.</p></span><a name="Expectations (prognosis)"></a><p><strong><span class="minusOne">Outlook (Prognosis)</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><span class="minusOne"><p>Most individuals with asymptomatic bacteriuria who do not have risk factors for complications do extremely well, and do not have any increased rates of symptomatic infections or decrease in kidney function.</p><p>The prognosis for treatment in the usual symptomshigh-risk group category is good if the infection is detected early, but the outlook depends on the person's underlying conditions or illnesses.</p></span><a name="Complications"></a><p><strong><span class="minusOne">Possible Complications</span></strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><span class="minusOne"><p>Individuals in high-risk groups have a significant risk of progressing to a true kidney infection if the bacteriuria is not treated. In certain cases, such as renal transplant recipients, kidney infection may lead to loss of kidney function.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p></span><br />

<pxmlns:ax="http://www.adam.com">&nbsp;Asymptomatic bacteriuria is a significant number of bacteria in the urine that occurs without any of the usual symptoms (burning during urination or increased frequency of urination). Asympomatic bacteruria may not need treatment, which makes it different from a bacterial <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000521.htm">urinary tract infection</a>.</p>