Urinary Tract Infection and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Uropathogens among Pregnant Women in Ogidi, Southeast Nigeri

Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTI) affect the structures involved in the secretion and elimination of urine. It is a common health
concern and contributes about 13-33% of infection in pregnancy. The prevalence of UTI among pregnant women attending
antenatal clinic in Iyi-Enu mission hospital and the sensitivity of isolates recovered, to antibiotics was studied. A total of 120
midstream urine samples collected from pregnant women who consented to the study, between January and March, 2023, were
cultured on MacConkey agar, Blood agar and Cystine Electrolyte Deficient Agar. Isolates were identified using colony
morphology, Gram stain reaction and biochemical tests. Susceptibility of the isolates to antibiotics was determined using KirbyBauer disc diffusion method. Results obtained from the structured questionnaire used for demographic data were statistically
analyzed. The prevalence of UTI among pregnant women was 24.2%. The isolates recovered include; Escherichia coli (24.1%),
Klebsiella spp. (18.5%), Proteus mirabilis(7.4%), Pseudomonas spp. (5.6%) and Staphylococcus aureus (44.4%). Gram negative
bacteria were most susceptible to Cefuroxine (63%) and resistant to Ceftazidine (80.7%). Gram-positive isolates were susceptible
to Levofloxacin (100%) but resistant to Amoxicillin (83.3%). Both Gram negative and Gram-positive organisms were recovered
from UTI of pregnant women and were found to be sensitive to Cefuroxine and Levofloxacin respectively. There is need for
proper diagnosis of UTI before treatment to avoid resistance of uropathogens to antibiotics.