Urinary pathogens and drug susceptibility patterns of urinary tract infections among antenatal clinic attendees in Ibadan, Nigeria

Aim: To determine the bacterial agents involved in urinary tract infections in pregnant women and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: All consenting subjects who attended antenatal clinics of the University College Hospital and Adeoyo Maternity Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria, from 1 April 2007 and 30 March 2009 were interviewed to obtain demographic and pregnancy health data. Mid‐stream urine samples obtained were processed by standard methods. Confirmed bacterial isolates were tested against seven antibiotics using the Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion technique. Results: Of the 473 specimens processed, 136 (28.8%) were positive for microscopy, 118 (25.0%) were culture positive, while 18 (3.8%) were microscopy positive but negative for culture. More than 90% of the bacterial isolates were Gram‐negative bacilli, of which approximately 80% were members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Klebsiella oxytoca accounted for 45 (38.1%) of the causative agents identified, followed by Escherichia coli (31.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.3%) and Proteus mirabilis (6.8%). Candida albicans accounted for three (2.6%) of the isolates. Ten isolates (22.2%) of K. oxytoca were resistant to cefuroxime while three (6.7%) were resistant to ofloxacin. The only Gram‐positive bacterium isolated, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, accounted for four (4.3%) of all pathogens, of which three (75.0%) were susceptible to nitrofurantoin, ofloxacin, cefuroxime and the amoxicillin–clavulanic acid combination. Conclusions: In conclusion, the incidence of culture‐positive urinary tract infection in pregnancy is common in Ibadan. More studies are needed to evaluate the susceptibility profile of uropathogens to commonly used antibiotics in our environment.