Asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnant Nigerian patients

One-thousand out of a total obstetric population of 3,548 patients seen between January and December, 1985, were screened for asymptomatic bacteriuria. During the first trimester, the observed incidence was 5.3 per cent while in the second and third trimesters it was 4.1 and 2.8 per cent, respectively. The overall pick-up rate was 4.0 per cent. The significance of this observation was discussed. Escherichia coli was the predominant causative micro-organism, accounting for 45 per cent of cases. A seven-day sensitive antibiotic therapy eradicated all the positive cases. The qualitative culture method as described in this study is a simple, sensitive and reliable method of screening for bacteriuria in pregnancy, especially as it can be used for identification of the causative organism and its antibiotic sensitivity.