Abstract
The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) varies widely based on the studied population. Currently, the prevalence of ASB in patients hospitalized in acute care institutions is unknown. Awareness of the prevalence of ASB in this setting would be useful in both medical decision-making as well as public reporting of hospital-acquired urinary tract infections. In this prevalence study, 200 consecutive patients admitted in April/May 2013 to a tertiary care academic center, had a urine sample collected for culture within 24 hours of being admitted. Data from the medical record was collected during their hospitalization up to 30 days post-enrollment. The objective was to determine the prevalence of ASB. Of the 200 patients, 17 were found to have ASB for a prevalence of 8.5%.