Prevalence Of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Among Pregnant Women At Kisugu Health Center III.

Abstract

Background; Asymptomatic bacteriuria is finding of Bacterium in quantitative counts of≥ 10^5 colony forming units/ml in a suitably collected urine sample obtained from a person presenting with no signs and symptoms of a urinary tract infection. It has been linked to adverse maternal complications like pyelonephritis, low birth weight and preterm labor. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria, common causative bacteria and associated risk factors among pregnant women at Kisugu health center III.

Methods; this study was a descriptive cross sectional study that enrolled 173 pregnant women presenting without signs and symptoms of urinary tract infections at Kisugu health center III between October and November 2021. Information on socio-demographic factors, obstetric factors and medical history of the pregnant women was acquired through questionnaires. Midstream clean catch urine samples were collected from the pregnant women. Urinalysis, culture and biochemical tests were performed on the samples. SPSS Version 20 was used to analyze the data and the results were presented in tables and pie charts. Logistics regression analysis and chi square tests were done to determine association of factors to asymptomatic bacteriuria. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results; Twenty nine women out of 173 (16.8%) pregnant women enrolled in this study were positive for asymptomatic bacteriuria. The most isolated bacteria was Escherichia coli at 41.4%. The risk factors that had statistical significant association to asymptomatic bacteriuria were pregnant women that were married, had sexual intercourse more than twice a week and had a history of urinary tract infections.

Conclusion; The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria among pregnant women at Kisugu health center III is high. I would recommend that culture and sensitivity is added as part of routine screening in pregnant women for asymptomatic bacteriuria. I would also recommend for another study to be done on antibiotic susceptibility testing.