ISSN: 2167-0420
Aniekan Monday Abasiattai*, Ovie David Okupa, Emmanuel Columba Inyang-Etoh, Gabriel Mattias Abah
Background: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in pregnancy is associated with serious fetal and maternal consequences and its occurrence is increased by HIV infection. This study sought to compare the prevalence of ASB among HIV- positive and HIV- negative pregnant women in the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital. Methods: One hundred and twenty-one HIV-positive pregnant women and a similar number of matched HIVnegative pregnant women were studied. Socio-demographic characteristics, and clinical data were collected from eligible women and their mid-stream urine samples sent for microscopy, culture and sensitivity. A diagnosis of ASB was made if there was presence of >105 colonies of a single bacterial specie per milliliter of urine. Results: Asymptomatic bacteriuria’s prevalence was 8.3% and among the HIV- positive pregnant women, the prevalence was 11.6% compared to 5.0% in those who were HIV- negative. The predominant isolate was Escherichia coli, cultured in 64.2% and 50.0% of HIV-positive and HIV- negative ASB cases respectively. There was an association between the presence of ASB and multiparity among the HIV infected pregnant women. Conclusion: The prevalence of ASB is high among pregnant women in our center and is higher in those who are HIV positive. It is associated with multiparity and treatment is effective in reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes. Hence, based on the high prevalence rates of over 2% revealed by this study, screening and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria among high-risk antenatal populations such as HIV-positive women should be undertaken routinely.