Frequency of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria at Term Pregnancy and its Relation to Maternal and Neonatal Outcome

Background: When there is considerable bacteriuria present but no signs of a urinary tract infection (UTI), this condition is known as asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB). In 2-10% of pregnant women, ASB occurs, which may be associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Aim: To study the association between asymptomatic bacteriuria at term pregnancy and the various maternal and neonatal outcomes. Subjects and methods: A prospective observational included 100 pregnant women at gestational age between 37 to 40 weeks. Urine culture was analyzed for all women, then follow-up for reporting adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Results: The frequency of cases with ASB was 24%. ASB was significantly associated with preterm labor (33.3% and 19.7% among positive culture and negative culture groups respectively; P=0.021). The percentage of PROM among the mothers with positive culture was higher as compared with the negative culture group (20.8% and 15.8% respectively), but, no statistically considerable value was reached (p=0.280). Neonates born to mothers with ASB had significant lower birth weight (P=<0.001) and 5-min Apgar score (P=0.024). Conclusion: Asymptomatic bacteriuria was frequent among women at term pregnancy in the current study. It was associated with preterm labour, low birth weight and decreased 5-min Apgar score at birth, Further studies are needed.