Urinary Tract Infection, Drug Resistance Profile And Fetal Outcomes Among Pregnant Women In Selected Health Facilites Of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A CrossSectional Study Design

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a commonly encountered health problem among pregnant women. Untreated UTI may result in fetal complications like preterm birth, low birth weight, intra uterine growth retardation and intrauterine fetal death. One of the major problems with bacterial pathogens is their ability to develop drug resistance. Determining drug susceptibility pattern of bacteria from urinary tract helps to identify effective drugs and minimize further adverse perinatal outcomes. The purpose of this study was to describe the magnitude and drug resistance profile of pregnant women and related fetal outcomes. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2019. Socio-demographic data of the study participants was collected by administering structured questionnaire after obtaining full consent of the participants. Clean catch mid-stream urine was collected from the study participants and the samples were transported to the laboratory with screw-capped container. Blood and MacConkey agar were used to cultivate bacteria from urine sample. Bacterial colonies were isolated and identified using standard biochemical properties. Antibacterial susceptibility test was done on Muller-Hinton agar using antibiotic discs. At the time of delivery, infant’s birth weight and gestational age was recorded on the log book as part of the daily work. Fetal outcome data were recorded from the log book and entered to EPI data management software then transferred to SPSS for analysis. Results:Out of 424 urine samples processed, 63 (14.9%) yielded significant bacteriuria. Fifty-nine out of 63 (93.7%) cases of UTIs were recorded among age group of 15-34 years. Escherichia coli, Klebsiellapneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus were the three dominant bacterial isolates. Most of the gram negative bacterial isolates were resistant to ampicillin and ceftazidime (43.2% each) while gram positive was resistant for tetracycline (36.8%). The result of this study showed that UTI had statistical association with the occurrence of Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUFD) and Prerupture of Membrane (PROM) (P<.05). Conclusion: Adverse fetal outcomes are significantly linked with the presence of UTI during pregnancy. The condition can be managed if early diagnosis and treatments are made for the mother