What to Do If Your UTI Tests Are Negative, But You Still Have Symptoms

You may feel the familiar symptoms of a urinary tract infection (UTI), particularly if you’ve had them before: the urge to urinate that doesn’t pass, the burning sensations, cloudy or bloody urine, yet your UTI test returns negative. 

UTIs are a common illness. About 40% of women will have a UTI at some point in their lives, and 20% of that group will have more than one. Making matters more difficult is that negative results from urine tests are also common. You might even test positive first and negative later, with little improvement in your UTI symptoms. It can be frustrating trying to establish a true picture. 

Look to PathMD Labs for urinary tract pathogen testing that gives your doctor a better overview of your UTI condition than standard strip tests and urine culture tests which are both known to be highly inaccurate. 

Rapid strip tests are thought to show only about 30% accuracy, while culture tests give a slightly better 50% chance of proper diagnosis. PathMD Labs uses real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for more positive identification of your UTI and its reasons. 

Drawbacks of conventional testing

A 2017 study from Belgium concluded that over 90% of women with UTI symptoms but negative UTI test results did indeed test positive for E. coli bacteria. This could indicate that false negative tests for UTIs may be even more common than expected. In many cases, UTI symptoms may be a better predictor than conventional tests. 

The RT-PCR difference

Standard UTI tests typically seek out signs of infection, by-products of the problem rather than identifying the cause of the infection. Results can be influenced by a wide range of factors that may be unrelated to your UTI. A good example of this is pH testing of your urine. It might be due to a UTI if it’s outside the normal range. However, it might also be due to something you ate or drank. 

RT-PCR testing uses messenger RNA (mRNA) to positively identify pathogens like E. coli that could be the reason for your UTI. RT-PCR recognizes pathogens by their coded mRNA instructions rather than the success of microbial growth in a urine culture test and its secondary evidence. 

Benefits of RT-PCR testing for UTI

Not only does RT-PCR accurately detect the presence of infecting pathogens, it does so with 98-100% accuracy. Results are ready in 24 to 48 hours. This speed and reliability mean that your practitioner makes more informed choices when prescribing antibiotics, necessary to treat bacterial UTIs. With the unreliable nature of traditional testing, antibiotics could often be prescribed by symptoms alone without waiting for test results known to be largely inaccurate. 

RT-PCR results aren’t affected by drugs you’re already taking or inefficiencies of your immune system. Pathogens that might not emerge from culture testing can be identified by RT-PCR testing. It’s more sensitive and faster than conventional urine cultures. 

For more information about urinary tract pathogen detection with RT-PCR testing, contact PathMD Labs today.