Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria among the Pregnant Women Receiving Antenatal Care at Federal Medical Centre Owerri, Nigeria

Abstract

The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria among the pregnant women receiving antenatal care at Federal Medical Centre Owerri, Nigeria was studied using one hundred and forty urine samples from the pregnant women in the in-patient and outpatient departments. Thirty-five of the women had significant bacteriuria, with a prevalence rate of 25%. The bacteria in the samples were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis. Escherichia coli occurred most frequently (40%) while Pseudomonas aeruginosa had the lowest frequency of occurrence (14%) in the samples. The infection was most prevalent among the women aged between 21 and 30 years (38.1%) and lowest among those between 41 and 50 years of age (9.4%). The prevalence was highest among the pregnant farmers and lowest among the pregnant civil servants in both the in-patient and outpatient departments. Pregnant women in the outpatient department had a higher prevalence than the women in the in-patient department. Pregnancy promotes the progression of asymptomatic to symptomatic bacteriuria with its consequences such as pyelonephritis, urinary tract infections and increased foetal mortality, therefore regular urine analysis of all pregnant women by certified health authorities is recommended.

Prevalence and Causative Organisms of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria among Pregnant Women in Karachi, Pakistan

“…A possible explanation behind this increased risk is the bladder compression due to the increased size of the uterus causing residual urinary volume. In contrast to our observation, Onuorah Samuel et al (43) reported that the age and socio-economic conditions contributed enormously in the prevalence of ASB amongst the pregnant women whose urine samples were examined. The prevalence was greater among the out-patients in comparison to the in-patients.…”

Asymptomatic Bacteriuria

“…We found most of the cases between 18-30 years of age similar to Onuorah Samuel, 8 it was further confirmed by Ahmad et al in Kashmiri population. 12 Contrary to the above, a study by Bloomberg et al 13 estimated higher prevalence between 31-35 years of age.…”

Prevalence of urinary tract infection with asymptomatic bacteriuria among gravid females: A Pakistani multicenter cross-sectional study.

“…Studies from Nigeria have shown the burden of ASB to be ranging between 25-45.3%. 8,14 All these studies show that there is a difference in the burden of ASB during pregnancy and these variations might be credited to variances in geographical location, ethnicity, hygienic, cultural and religious norms.…”

“…Bacteriuria is the presence of bacteria in urine, and if the bacteria in 1 ml of urine exceed 10 5 colony forming units, then irrespective of the presence of symptoms, bacteriuria is considered to be significant. 8 The bacteria that cause urinary tract infections in gravid females are the same as in non-gravid females. Among them, 80-90% of infections are caused by escherichia coli (a gram negative bacillus).…”