Lavanya Venkata Sayam, Vijayalakshmi Payala, Jogalakshmi Dusi
BACKGROUND
Urinary tract infection in pregnancy is associated with significant morbidity for both the mother and the baby. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria, the bacterial profile and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the urinary pathogens isolated from pregnant women attending the OPD of a teaching hospital in a semi-rural area in the outskirts of Visakhapatnam city.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study group included 500 asymptomatic antenatal women in their first or second trimester of pregnancy. They were screened for bacteriuria by the catalase method. Their mid-stream clean-catch samples of urine were cultured by the standard loop semi-quantitative method. Antibiotic sensitivity was tested by the disc-diffusion method. Culture positive cases were advised to strictly follow treatment to avoid future complications.
RESULTS
48 (9.6%) of the 500 samples were culture positive. 66.66% (32 cases) of the positive cases were primigravida. The incidence was also high in the less than 20 years age group. The frequency of isolating coagulase negative Staphylococcus has increased in the present study. Many of the isolates proved to be ESBLs.
CONCLUSION
The findings of the study re-confirm the results of the earlier studies conducted in Visakhapatnam and elsewhere, and call for an even more vigilant approach to the problem. Prevalence of CONS was not encountered in the earlier study conducted in a similar demographic area, nor was that of the ESBLs. It has thus been proven that early screening of all pregnant women for urinary tract infection is mandatory for those visiting the obstetrician for antenatal checkups
