# At-home UTI test positive for leukocytes, but negative for nitrates?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-uti-test-positive-for-leukocytes-but-negative-for-nitrates/714749>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 11, 2015, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-uti-test-positive-for-leukocytes-but-negative-for-nitrates/714749 "2015-03-11T10:37:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-uti-test-positive-for-leukocytes-but-negative-for-nitrates/714749/1 "2015-03-11T10:37:25Z")

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Would this indicate no UTI is present? Or are there strains of bacteria that do not convert nitrite into nitrates?

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**Author:** ![Cephkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cephkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cephkiller)\
**Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-home-uti-test-positive-for-leukocytes-but-negative-for-nitrates/714749/2 "2015-03-11T16:25:10Z")

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Former Med Tech here

Some bacteria do not form nitrates, however, a more likely cause of this result is vaginal contamination. Was the urine collected using a clean catch, midstream technique? If not, I suggest you look it up and test again with a proper sample.