Urinary pathogenic bacterial profile, antibiogram of isolates and associated risk factors among pregnant women in Ambo town, Central Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a well-known bacterial infection posing serious health problem in pregnant women. A study was conducted in pregnant women with the objectives of estimating prevalence of UTI, determining antibiogram of the bacterial isolates and assessment of the potential risk factors associated with UTI. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to collect 300 mid-stream urine samples from pregnant women from March 2016 to December, 2016. Samples were inoculated into Cysteine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient medium (CLED). Colonies from CLED were subcultured onto MacConkey and Blood agar plates. A standard agar disc diffusion method was used to determine antimicrobial susceptibility. Chi-square (X-2) test & logistic regression were used to show associations between UTI and explanatory variables & identify the predictors of UTI, respectively. Results: The age of pregnant women enrolled in this study ranges from 16 to 46 years (mean +/- standard deviation = 25 +/- 4.7 years). The overall prevalence of UTI in pregnant women was 18.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.4-23.54%). The prevalence of symptomatic and asymptomatic UTI was 20.4% (95% CI: 13.09-29.46%) and 17.8% (95% CI: 12.70-23.83%) respectively. The predominant bacteria identified were E. coli (46.4%), S. aureus (14.3%), coagulase negative Staphylococci [CoNS] (14.3%) and Proteus species (10.6%). Majority of Gram-negative bacteria isolates were resistant to ampicillin (70%), ceftriaxon (66%), gentamicin (68%) and nitrofurantoin (64%) while 75-100% of the Gram positive isolates were resistance to ampicillin. Multiple drug resistance was observed in all of the isolates. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that the odds of acquiring UTI was 4.78 times higher in pregnant women earning monthly income of = 500 Ethiopian Birr (21.18 USD) as compared to those earning monthly income > 2001 Ethiopian Birr [84.79 USD] (P = 0.046). Similarly, the risk of UTI was higher in those who eat raw meat (OR = 2.04, 95% CI: 1.09, 3.83, P = 0.026) and had previous UTI history (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.15-4.56, P = 0.019) as compared to those who eat cooked meat and had no previous history of UTI. Conclusions: The prevalence & antimicrobial resistance of uropathogens was high. Health education, continuous surveillance of UTI and their antimicrobial resistance pattern are essential to reduce the consequence of symptomatic and asymptomatic bacteriuria and multi-drug resistant bacteria in pregnant women.