Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria among Pregnant Women seen at a Tertiary Hospital in Northern Nigeria

The importance of screening for asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy can never be overemphasized. This study was done to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic urinary tract infection, the bacteriological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates, amongst pregnant women attending their first antenatal clinic. Two hundred and twenty-seven pregnant women presenting for the first antenatal clinic visit at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna were recruited for the study using systematic random sampling method, relevant demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained from proformas given to the pregnant women to fill. Clean catch mid-steam urine samples were collected and processed using standard bacteriological methods. The modified Kirby-Bauer method (Disk diffussion) was used for antimicrobial susceptibility testing according to Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI, 2012) guidelines. Prevalence of AB was19.8% and isolates recovered included Staphylococcus aureus (51.1%), Escherichia coli (28.9%), Proteus mirabilis (11.1%) and Staphylococcus saprophyticus (8.9%). Bacterial isolates from this study were most sensitive to Gentamycin, followed by Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid, and least susceptible to Cotrimoxazole. The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria among pregnant women presenting for the first antenatal clinic visit at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna is high. Follow up studies are required to determine if routine screening by urine culture should advocated for all pregnant women at booking.