A female client with an indwelling urinary catheter is suspected of having a urinary tract infection. Which method should the nurse use to collect a urine specimen for culture and sensitivity?

• A. Disconnecting the tubing from the urinary catheter and letting the urine flow into a sterile container.
• B. Wiping the self-sealing aspiration port with antiseptic solution and aspirating urine with a sterile needle.
• C. Draining urine from the drainage bag into a sterile container.
• D. Clamping the tubing for 60 minutes and inserting a sterile needle into the tubing above the clamp to aspirate urine.

Answer: (B)

When obtaining a urine culture from an indwelling catheter, the goal is to get a clean sample without breaking the closed system or contaminating the specimen. The most reliable method is to cleanse the catheter’s self-sealing sampling port with antiseptic and then aspirate urine using a sterile syringe. This approach draws urine directly from the bladder through a designated sterile access point, preserving the integrity of the catheter system and minimizing contamination from the skin, tubing, or collection bag. The collected urine is then placed into a sterile container for culture and sensitivity, ensuring accurate results to guide therapy.

Disrupting the system by disconnecting tubing, draining the drainage bag, or puncturing the line with a needle without a proper sterile port access increases the risk of contamination or introduces nonbladder urine, leading to unreliable culture results or potential infection risk.