Urinary tract infections among pregnant women in Mosul city

ABSTRACT
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of urinary tract infection (UTI) among pregnant women in Mosul city and to classify the infected women according to their trimesters of pregnancy. The sensitivity of isolated organisms to various antibiotics was also examined.
Patients and methods: Sample of 154 pregnant women attending Al-Batool Maternity Hospital in Mosul city from Feb-April 2007 was taken. Information on age, gestational age, gravidity, parity, level of education and residence were collected for each woman. Clean midstream urine samples were examined for UTI microscopically and culture, and sensitivity tests were done for the organisms isolated using a range of antibiotics.
Results: Prevalence rate of UTI among the studied subjects was 47.4%. Eschirishia coli was the most frequently isolated organism (73.5%) which was highly sensitive to nitrofurantoin, ciprofloxacin, gentamycin, ceftriaxone and amikacin. Amoxicillin, cotrimoxasole, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin are the effective antibiotics to half of isolated Gram positive bacteria. Of the variables examined, 79.5% of the infected participants were in the age group 20-35 years, 53.0% were in their third trimester, 41.0% had 1-4 children, 30.1% were primigravidae, 63.0% attended the antenatal care unit on need, and 71.2% were urban at 6-12 years schooling.
Conclusion: UTI is still a major health problem among pregnant women especially during their third trimester. Escherichia coli is the predominant pathogen causing UTI. All detected bacteria were sensitive to amikacin. Urinalyses with culture and sensitivity tests are mandatory for all pregnant women during the different trimesters. Health education with regular antenatal care share greatly in reducing the incidence of this infection.