Incidence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Pregnant Women

Background: Asymptomatic bacteriuria is the presence of bacteria in the properly collected urine of a patient that has no signs and symptoms of urinary tract infection.

Aim: This study was carried out to determine the incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women in Saveetha medical college, Thandalam, Tamil Nadu.

Materials and Methods: A total of 250 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at civil hospital, Saveetha medical college, over a period of 3 months, with age groups between 18 to 30 years agreed to enter the study and were clinically evaluated. All these women were asked to submit clean catch midstream urine samples and it was examined under the microscope and by culture method.

Results: A total of 250 pregnant women included in our study, with varying age groups between 18 to 30 years and the highest incidence was seen in between the 26 to 30 age group. Asymptomatic bacteriuria was seen in 27.2% of the pregnant women. The prevalence of Escherichia coli was among the most dominant organism, followed by Staphylococcus aureus ,klebsiella and proteus species.

Conclusion: The study showed 27.2% of the pregnant women to have asymptomatic bacteriuria. This can be reduced by screening the mothers in first trimester and routine urine culture test must be carried out.