Asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy in the central region of Iran: Frequency, risk factors, and causative organisms

Introduction: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is a common condition that occurring during pregnancy and while untreated can be associated with adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of ASB in pregnant women referred to prenatal care clinics and determine risk factors and resistance patterns of bacteria isolated from urinary tract infections. Methods: In a prospective study 220 women without urinary symptoms referred to prenatal care clinics randomly. After obtaining informed consent and complete a demographic questionnaire urine samples were taken and cultured. The isolates from all the cases of ASB were identified and antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Results: In this study, the minimum age was 16 years and the maximum was 42 years, mean age was 29.25 +/- 7.56 years. The average gestational age in women with ASB was 28.7 +/- 6.4 weeks and in patients without ASB was 27.6 +/- 5.7 weeks. About 12% of women had ASB. E. coli was found to be the most common isolate. In this study, educational level, previous history of UTI, non-compliance with preventive measures and multi-parity were risk factors of ASB. The least antibiotics resistance was to nitrofurantoin, ceftriaxone, and norfloxacin. Conclusion: Routine screening of antenatal women during all trimesters must be considered for preventing the adverse maternal and fetal outcomes particularly with known risk factors like low educational level, multiparity and previous history of UTI.