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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women referred to a University College Hospital in Shiraz, Iran for perinatal care, and also to determine the relation between asymptomatic bacteriuria and pyuria. METHODS: This cross-sectional case series study included 389 healthy pregnant women who were referred to Hafez Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, antenatal care unit for regular perinatal care between May and August 2007. A specimen from each candidate was collected and processed following the standard microbiological technique. All the subjects were evaluated for bacteriuria. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 26.3 +/= 4.2 years. The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria was 5.1%. From 75 (19.2%) patients who had >/- 5 pus cells in high power field, only 12 (16%) had positive urine culture. The most common isolated microorganism was Escherichia coli (70%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (20%) and Group B Streptococcus (5%). CONCLUSION: We found a rate of bacteriuria in our cohort of asymptomatic pregnant subject that is well within the reported range from the literature. A negative test for pyuria is not a reliable indicator of the absence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant women. To prevent asymptomatic bacteriuria complications, all pregnant women should be screened at the first antenatal visit.

Article Type

Research Article

First Page

917

Last Page

920

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