Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Pregnant Women in AL-Kharj city, Saudi Arabia

Objective: The aim of this study was undertakn to determine the incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) during pregnancy and its prevalence in the three trimesters, also to find out the optimal screening weeks for asymptomatic bacteriuria. Subjects and Methods; A total of 1534 healthy pregnant women who were attending the antenatal clinic of the Deparatment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Salman Bin Abdulaziz university hospital and king Khaled hospital .with no urinary tract complaints for a regular prenatal care were evaluated for bacteriuria. The study carried out between December 1st, 2013 and September 30, 2014 during this period 1534 pregnant women were involved. After perineal cleaning, urine sampled was obtained from all patients for culture and microscopic evaluation. Approximately one ml urine was sampled using mid –stream catch technique. Patients with bacteriuria counts over 105 with the mid –stream catch technique were considered to have asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB). Patients fulfilling the criteria for bacteriuria were treated with either ampicillin 500 mg three times daily or cephalosporin 250 mg four times daily for one week, depending on the in- vitro sensitivity tests. Results; the frequency of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) was 8%. E. coli was isolated as the pathogenic organism in 83.7% of the cases with ASB. ASB was found to be more frequent in patients between 20 ¬-30 years old (p<0.001). ASB was diagnosed in 123 patients; 34 were in the first trimester, 50 were in second trimester and 39 were in third trimester. Clustering in the second trimester was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Maximum peak of bacteriuria was found at 18th week of gestation. Conclusion: Prevalence rate of ASB in the first, second, and third trimester was 2.2%, 3.2% and 2.5% respectively. The women between 20 ¬-30 years high frequent bacteriuria (p. <0.001). Women with no bacteriuria in their initial examination in the first trimester developed bacteriuria in the later trimesters. We therefore, suggest that it would be prudent to screen pregnant women for bacteriuria in second and third trimesters. The 18th week of gestation is the optimal time for a single screen of bacteriuria.