Urinary tract infections (UTI) are an important global health problem prevailing in all age groups. They are one of the commonest infective sequel during pregnancy & is of great importance due to the serious impact it has on the mother and the foetus. This study was taken up to determine the prevalence of UTI in pregnant women, to identify the common uropathogen causing UTI, comparison of various screening methods with bacteriological culture & to document the prevailing antibiogram pattern of the common uropathogens causing UTI. Materials and methods: The study involved 500 pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of the Department of OBG at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute (MGMCRI), Pondicherry. A brief history( presenting illness, past history & personal history)was taken from the patient and 5ml urine sample was then collected under strict aseptic precautions, transported at the earliest to the Microbiology lab at MGMCRI for processing & identification. The sample was first subjected to a wet mount examination, a Dipstick testing: A10 REAGENT STRIPS, RAPHA(for detection of urinary leucocytes & detection of urinary nitrites) & urine culture on CLED agar & 5% sheep blood agar. Any growth if present was then identified by routine preliminary tests & biochemical tests. Antibiotic sensitivity testing was then done as per CLSI guidelines. Results & Discussion: Prevalence of UTI among pregnant women was 45 % (n=219), this high prevalence could be attributed to the low income state of the patient & anaemia. Higher prevalence of UTI in pregnancy of 44%(n=97/219)was observed in the age group of 21- 25yrs,this could be due to the high sexual activity or higher prevalence of anaemia among this group. Detection of urinary nitrite was positive in 172/219 cases positive by urine culture, accounting for 78.5%. This could be due to the variability in the kit manufacturer or the time delay in the appearance of nitrites in the urine giving false negatives. Urine culture remained the gold standard for diagnosis of UTI. In our study Enterococcus emerged as the third most common isolate, following E.coli and Klebsiella. This may be attributed to the ablution practices following defecation in women.Gram negative bacilli showed increased sensitivity to Amikacin, Nitrofurantoin & Imipenem.Gram positive cocci showed 60% sensitivity to Amoxyclav, Gentamicin, Tetracycline, Linezolid & Teicoplanin and 80% sensitivity to Vancomycin. However, on account of teratogenicity of Amikacin, Nitrofurantoin may be a better alternative.

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