Studies of introital colonization in women with recurrent urinary infection. VI. Analysis of segmented leukocytes on the vaginal vestibule in relation to enterobacterial colonization.

Segmented leukocytes on the vaginal vestibule were quantitated in 93 specimens from 27 women with recurrent bacteriuria (1.03 times 10(5) plus or minus 4.9 times 10(5) cells per ml.) and compared to 251 specimens from 26 control women who had never had bacteriuria (8.0 times 10(4) plus or minus 1.7 times 10(5)). There was no significant difference (p more than 0.6). Leukocyte counts accompanying colonization with more than 100 Enterobacteriaceae per ml. (6.4 times 10(4) plus or minus 1.0 times 10(5) cells per ml). were no different from those unaccompanied by Enterobacteriaceae (8.7 times 10(4) plus or minus 3.3 times 10(5) cells per ml., p more than 0.9). No distinctive pattern was observed in excretion of vaginal leukocytes during the menstrual cycles of 21 premenopausal, control volunteers.