Asymptomatic bacteriuria, acute cystitis, and pyelonephritis comprise the spectrum of urinary tract infections and are the most common types of infections in women. Al though there is no clear evidence of increased incidence f bacteriuria during
pregnancy, anatomic and physiologic alterations associated with this state may cause pregnant women to be more susceptible to pyelonephritis and may increase the risk of fetal mortality and morbidity results from complications such as premature
labor,
sepsis, and so on.
Therefore it is reasonable to assume that a rapid, simple and effective test to identify patients with bacteriuria could be a great benefit in reducing these complications of pregnancy. So we evaluate the reliability of the screening tests of
urinary
tract infections during pregnancy. Compared with semiquantitative urine culture, the sensitivity of bacilluria, leukocyte esterase test and nitrite test are 58.3%, 50% and 33.3%, respectively.
In conclusion, microscopic urinalysis, nitrite test and leukocyte esterase test are not sensitive enough to be used as screening procedures; semiquantitative urine culture remains standard.
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