Prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and associated risk factors for urinary tract infections in pregnant women attending ANC in some integrated health centers in the Buea Health District

Abstract

Background Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the second most frequent infections after respiratory tract infections that affect humans, with over 150 million cases per year. The anatomy of the female urinary tract predisposes them to UTIs than men. More so, physiological and hormonal changes during pregnancy put pregnant woman at risk of UTIs. Untreated UTI(s) in pregnancy can be detrimental to both the mother and child causing preterm labour, low birth weight and pyelonephritis. The situation is worrisome because the infection can be asymptomatic. This study investigated the prevalence and risk factors for UTIs, diagnostic potential of dipstick analyses and antimicrobial susceptibility of uropathogens from pregnant women attending ANC in some Integrated Health Centers (IHCs) in Buea Health District (BHD). Methods A structured questionnaire was administered to consenting pregnant women at participating IHCs to collect data on demographic characteristics, risk factors and symptoms of UTI. Urine samples were collected for dipstick analysis and culture. Antibiograms were performed on the isolates by the disc diffusion method. A bivariate analysis was performed to investigate the association of the risk factors to UTI. Chi square (χ2) test, odds ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were used to compare statistics and test for associations at a significant level of p ≤ 0.05. Results Of the 287 participants recruited, 89(31%) were positive for UTI. There were 150 women with no symptoms of which 43(28.7%) were positive for UTI. E. coli was the most frequent (43.2%) of the organisms implicated in bacteriuria. There was no significant association between the risk factors studied and UTI. Isolates were most sensitive to ciprofloxacin (73.5%) and gentamycin (73.5%) and resistant to ceftriaxone (70.6%) and tetracycline (64.7%). Nitrite test was highly specific (100%) for the diagnosis of UTI while leucocyte esterase was more sensitive (48.3%) than specific (44.9%). Conclusions The prevalence of UTI in BHD was high. In conformity with previous findings in same area, there were no risk factors associated with UTI. We recommended a longitudinal study with a larger sample size to follow up the women to term in order to determine the gravity of this infection on pregnancy outcomes.

Occurrence of urinary schistosomiasis and associated bacteria in parts of Ondo State, Nigeria

“…Though the number of female participants with UTI was more than that of male but the difference was not significant. The wider surface area of female genitalia and the shortness of the urethra of the female urinary tract could predispose them to UTIs than men [10], and this should have made the female participants to be more prone to UTI rather than males. High occurrence of S. aureus and S. saprophyticus in the urinary tract was in agreement with the report of [29,30].…”

“…Report by [7] posited it that about 29 million infected cases of schistosomiasis are in Nigeria with 101 million people at risk of infection [8] as there is unabated increase of infection in all the geographical zones of the country. Meanwhile, the urinary tract is the second commonest site after respiratory tract for bacterial infection [9] with over 150 million cases per year [10]. Urinary tract infection (UTI) has been pointed to be the second most frequent infection in long-term care facilities and the most common cause of hospitalization for bacterial infection, [11].…”

The prevalence and management strategies of gestational urinary tract infections (UTI) in Kisumu County, Kenya

“…Assessment of gestational UTI associated risk factors is highly advisable following the unmet challenges in the implementation of the ideal bacterial diagnostics for effective surveillance and proper clinical and therapeutic management (43).…”

As consequências da infecção do trato urinário durante o período gestacional

“…A infecção do trato urinário (ITU) é definida como um processo inflamatório ocasionado pela presença e crescimento de microrganismos ao longo do trato urinário, considerada uma das infecções bacterianas mais comuns, cuja incidência é ainda maior no sexo feminino e durante a gravidez (NGONG IN, et al, 2021). De forma predominante, as ITUs são causadas pelo patógeno Escherichia coli uropatogênica, que é responsável, por aproximadamente 80% dos casos de ITUs (KLEIN RD e HULTGREN SJ, 2020).…”