Role of routine urine culture in predicting asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy and the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women - Our experience

Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in pregnancy can flare into frank pyelonephritis and sepsis if untreated due to the low immunity. Apart from causing morbidity in mothers it affects the foetus by increasing the incidence of prematurity and IUGR. The present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of ASB in the pregnant women attending Ante natal clinic and the significance of routine urine culture. : Total 310 pregnant women attending the antenatal OPD were enrolled in the study over a period of 10 months. Inclusion criteria included all pregnant women attending antenatal OPD without any urinary symptoms or history of fever. Exclusion criteria included frank UTI symptoms like fever, dysuria, increased frequency of urine, any history of intake of antibiotics, any urinary tract anomaly or renal calculi. Their midstream urine sampling was collected and subjected to both microscopy and culture sensitivity; standard microbiological method was used. The prevalence of ASB was found to be 11.29% and was maximum in second trimester (54.2%). The study revealed routine urine culture is a sensitive test to diagnose ASB. The commonest bacterium isolated was Escherichia coli (51.4% cases) and the most effective antibiotic was Nitrofurantoin. The neonatal outcomes are discussed in the text while no perinatal deaths were recorded during the period of study. No direct association of asymptomatic bacteriuria with anaemia and preeclampsia was found, but odds ratio was more than one. The study highlights that asymptomatic bacteriuria is a common occurrence in pregnant women, including urine culture as a part of routine investigation in antenatal patients can help diagnose this condition. Prompt treatment of ASB can prevent any obstetric complication arising from the flareup of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy and thus reduce maternal and foetal morbidity.