*[1]Bassey, E. E., 1Mbah, M., 1Akpan, S. S., [2]Ikpi, E. E., and 1Alaribe, A. A. A.
1Department of Medical Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
2Department of Urology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
*Correspondence to: emmanueleffiong2046@gmail.com; ORCiD: //orcid.org/0000-0003-2029-5611
Abstract:
Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most encountered bacterial infections of humans and affect both male and female of all age groups, resulting in high mortality, without proper management. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, aetiological agents, and factors associated with symptomatic significant bacteriuria/UTI among patients attending selected hospitals in Calabar metropolis, Nigeria.
Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study of 240 patients with suspected UTI, from whom mid-stream voided urine samples were collected for culture on Cystine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient (CLED) agar. Uropathogens growth on the culture media were characterized using conventional microbiological and biochemical tests, and confirmed with API® 20E and 20NE (BioMérieux) identification system. Data on socio-demographic, clinical symptoms and potential risk factors were obtained using structured questionnaire. Pearson Chi-square was employed to determine association between categorical variables with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.
Results: Of all the urine samples collected from the 240 patients, 13 samples were contaminated during collection, leaving 227 samples for analysis. Sixty-five (28.6%) of the 227 patients had symptomatic significant bacteriuria. Previous history of UTI (OR=2.863, 95% CI=1.582-5.180, p=0.008), contraceptive use (OR=3.469, 95% CI=1.446-8.320, p=0.012), pregnancy (OR=9.94, 95% CI=3.867-25.571, p<0.0001) and history of urinary catheterization (OR=4.417, 95% CI=1.024-19.053, p=0.045) were significantly associated with prevalence of symptomatic significant bacteriuria/UTI. Klebsiella pneumoniae (23.1%) was the most predominant isolate, followed by coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (16.9%) and Escherichia coli (12.3%).
Conclusion: The prevalence of symptomatic significant bacteriuria among patients attending selected hospitals in Calabar, Nigeria, was 28.6% (65/227), with K. pneumoniae and CoNS being the major aetiologic agents. Our study shows that previous history of UTI, pregnancy, history of urinary catheterization, contraceptive use, dysuria and occupation were significantly associated with symptomatic significant bacteriuria/UTI (p<0.05). Routine screening for UTI is recommended for pregnant women, patients with dysuria, previous episodes of UTI, and catheterized patients.
Keywords: Bacteriuria, prevalence, significant, symptomatic, urinary
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