Authors : Sudheendra Kulkarni, B. V. Peerapur
DOI : 10.18231/2394-5478.2018.0017
Volume : 5
Issue : 1
Year : 0
Page No : 84-86
Introduction: Urinary tract infection (UTI) due to Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a common health problem among women. Pregnant women are at increased risk from both symptomatic and asymptomatic UTI because of the physiologic changes associated with pregnancy which may cause complications such as pyelonephritis, chronic renal failure, premature delivery and foetal mortality. Our study aimed to check the prevalence of asymptomatic UTI due to E. coli and its antibiotic profile among pregnant women of Bidar district of North Karnataka, India.
Materials and Methods: An independent study was done from January to February 2015 to investigate asymptomatic UTI among pregnant women attending Antenatal care clinic (ANC) of Bidar Institute of Medical sciences (BRIMS) Teaching hospital Bidar. 150 mid-stream urine samples were processed for culture and antimicrobial drug susceptibility testing at Department of Microbiology, BRIMS, Bidar as per the routine microbiological techniques. Diagnosis of UTI was made when there were at least 105 colony forming unit (CFU)/ml of urine. Isolates other than E. coli are not considered for this study.
Results: Among 150 samples tested, 65 samples grown E. coli with colony count of 105 CFU/ml of urine. (43.33%).The Majority of pregnant women were in their 2nd and 3rd trimester and the mean age of study population was 23.46. The rate of UTI was highest among age group of 20-25 years. E. coli isolates showed highest resistance to antibiotics Ampicillin (96.92%), Cefuroxime (55.38%) and ceftriaxone (53.85%). It was uniformly sensitive to routinely used drugs for treatment of UTI.
Discussion: Many Gram negative and Gram positive organisms including Yeast cause UTI in pregnant women. Our study revealed the high prevalence of asymptomatic UTI among pregnant women due to E. coli in Bidar (43.33%) as compared to studies conducted in other parts Karnataka. This study also showed the antibiotic profile of E. coli to different drugs tested and showed highest resistance to Ampicillin.
Conclusion: Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in pregnant women due to E. coli is relatively higher in Bidar district and it showed resistance against commonly used antimicrobial agents. Hence it is strongly recommended to undertake routine urine culture in pregnancy and provide appropriate treatment to reduce its complications.
Keywords: Asymptomatic bacteriuria, ANC, Escherichia coli, Prevalence, UTI.