Reliability of the urine spot test in predicting urinary tract infections during pregnancy: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a significant difference in positive uronalysis (Total UA) results and fertility in urine cultures during pregnancy. Material and Methods: Our retrospective observational study included 177 patients who were admitted to our hospital between September 1, 2023 and November 1, 2023 and had a complete urinalysis performed. As a result of the total UA, patients with leukocytes/bacteria> 5, leukocyte esterase positive and nitrite positive were identified. Among the patients whose urine culture was detected according to the results of urinalysis, those whose urine culture was evaluated and those who were not were divided into two groups. The results of total UA and urine culture were compared. In addition, the weeks of gestation of patients with positive urinalysis results were recorded and it was investigated whether there was a correlation between the frequency of urinary tract infections (UTI) and pregnancy. Results: A total of 177 patients who were followed up for pregnancy were included in the study. All patients had total UA results. When the total UA abnormalities were examined, it was found that the rate of those with a high leukocyte/bacteria ratio was 80.2%, the rate of those with positive leukocyte esterase was 61%, and the rate of those who were nitrite positive was 25.4%. According to the urine culture results, 54.8% of participants had no urine culture and 45.2% of participants had one. The rate of urine cultures was 77.5% without reproduction and 22.5% with reproduction. In addition, the mean gestational weeks of the patients was 25.96±11.57 weeks, the mean week of gestation according to ultrasound measurements was 26.02±11.64. and no significant association was found between weeks of gestation and the incidence of UTI. Conclusion: In our study, no significant association was found between positive total UA results during pregnancy and urine culture reproduction. There is a need for comprehensive multicenter studies with a larger number of patients regarding the incidence of UTIs in relation to gestational age and other tests that can be used in the diagnosis of UTIs.