Urinary Tract Infection and Antibiotic Resistance among Pregnant and Non-pregnant females in UAE

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that can take place in both genders and anywhere within the urinary tract and results from certain microorganisms such as bacteria which are the most common cause of UTI. In case it was a bacterial infection the physician usually administers antibiotics depending on the nature of the UTI and in some cases antibiotic resistance might occur. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of urinary tract infection in pregnant and non-pregnant women in UAE, distribution of bacteria which cause UTI and its sensitivity and resistance to antibiotics. Methods: A Cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 300 women results were retrospectively analyzed in the study. Results: From those 300 study participants (39%) were pregnant and (61%) non-pregnant. The percentage of resistance in the uropathogens in pregnant patients was more (69.49%) compared to those in non-pregnant patients (56.59 %). The pathogens distribution shows that the most common pathogen is Escherichia Coli (58%). This study shows that E. coli has high resistance to Amoxicillin. Conclusion: Pregnant women are more susceptible to UTI in comparison to non-pregnant women and the main cause of UTI is the E.coli bacteria. The highest uropathogen resistance was against amoxicillin, while the antibiotic of choice for UTI treatment is ciprofloxacin due to its high sensitivity. UTI needs to be detected and treated promptly since treatment has shown its efficiency in preventing pregnancy related complications.