Strengths and limitations
This study has several major strengths.
First,
we
used
catheterized urine specimens instead of voided urine. Indeed, Wolfe and
coworkers discovered that the microbiomes in voided urine and urine
collected by transurethral catheter differed, and microbiome in
catheterized urine specimens most closely represent the bladder
microbiome itself, without contribution of microbial flora from the
genital tract.12 Second, except the scores of OABSS,
the demographic characteristics (e.g., age, BMI, race/ethnicity) of the
two cohorts were similar. Therefore, many factors that cause the
heterogeneity of flora are excluded. Third, the total sample size of
well-characterised OAB patients included in this study is relatively
large. In addition, all patients not only completed the routine urine
examination, but also underwent standard urine culture to rule out
urinary tract infection. The limitations of the study include small
sample size of mild OAB group and lack of a replication dataset. And it
is hardly to determine the cause-effect relationship between symptoms
and bioinformatics indicators in this cross-sectional study. Thus,
prospective studies with a larger sample will be required to clarify the
role of urinary microbiota in the development and progression of OAB.