Influence of the transport on the outcome of the bacteriological analysis of dog urine comparison of three transport tubes.

A sterile plastic tube, a boric acid-glycerol-sodium formate tube and a dip-slide tube were compared for transport of dog urine for bacteriological examination under practice conditions, at ambient temperature. In a first part, 50 dog urine samples were cultured on agar plates and on a dip-slide kit within 2 h after collection and after storage at 20 degrees C in a sterile tube and in a boric acid tube for 24 h and 48 h. Culture of the samples stored in the boric acid tube and culture on the dip-slide yielded results which correlated very well with those of the culture of fresh urine. However, culture of the samples stored in the sterile tube yielded up to 65% false positive results. In a second part, a comparison was drawn with culture results of 100 dog urine specimens collected by different practitioners and simultaneously mailed to our laboratory in a sterile tube, in a boric acid tube and in a dip-slide kit. Samples sent in the boric acid and in the dip-slide tube showed comparable culture results. Culture of the samples sent in the plastic tube yielded 53% false positive results in comparison with those of the samples preserved in boric acid.