Urinary Tract Infection in Pregnant Women at Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract

Background: Urinary tract infections “UTIs” are one of the frequently encountered problems during pregnancy. Untreated UTI can be associated with serious obstetric complications. Hence the management and prevention of UTI in pregnancy is the crucial factor for the sustained pregnant period. Hence the present study was designed to identify the pathogenic agents of UTI and its associated risk factors in antenatal mothers in two private hospitals at Kathmandu city.
 Aim: The main objective of the study was to identify the etiological agent and associated risk factor in Urinary tract infection among pregnant women attending the antenatal care service visit in a selected hospital.
 Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.
 Place and Time of Study: The study was carried out under the supervision of University and field study was carried out in Kathmandu, Nepal from March 2019 to October 2019.
 Methods: The cross-sectional study was performed at the Norvic Hospital and Baidya and Banskota hospital from March 2019 to October 2019. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 510, clean catch midstream urine (MSU) samples were collected aseptically and analyzed using standard microbiology methods. Data for the factors associated with UTI were obtained by use of questionnaires and standard laboratory tests for selected underlying conditions concerning associated risk factors were collected using structured questionnaires and the sample was also processed for antimicrobial drug susceptibility testing.
 Results: The study revealed 193/510(37.84%) UTI prevalence among patients attending two hospitals in Kathmandu valley. Escherichia coli was the most prevalent bacterial uropathogen with 119/193(61.6%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae 35/193(18.13%), Staphylococcus aureus 22/193 (11.39%), Proteus mirabilis 7/193 (3.6%), Enterococcus faecalis 2/193 (1.0%), Enterobacter aerogenes2/193(1.0%) Serratia odorifera 3/193(1.5%), Streptococcus species3/193(1.5%).
 Conclusions: The high prevalence of urinary tract infection in pregnant women warrant the need to screen all pregnant women and treat those infected with appropriate antimicrobial regimens in order to reduce its complications. Urinary Tract Infection screening is essential in pregnant women.