Uropathogens In Pregnant Women With Symptomatic And Asymptomatic UTI

Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) are the most common bacterial infection during pregnancy. UTI is characterized by the presence and proliferation of bacteria in the Urinary Tract. UTI can cause serious maternal complications during pregnancy if left untreated. It increases the risk of mortality and morbidity in neonates. A six months cross sectional study was conducted in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) to determine the incidence and antibiotic susceptibility profile of uropathogens causing asymptomatic and symptomatic UTI in pregnancy. Based on inclusion criteria 346 pregnant women were screened for presence of UTI. The urine samples with pus cells greater than 5 were cultured on Cystine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient (CLED) medium. E.coli was found to be the leading cause of UTI accounting for 59% of the cases, followed by Klebsiella (12.3%). The incidence of asymptomatic UTI was 52% while that of symptomatic was 50.8% among pregnant women. Sensitivity profiles indicated fosfomycin as a highly effective (70-100%) drug against both gram negative and gram positive bacteria.