PREVENTION OF PRETERM DELIVERY AND LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT ASSOCIATED WITH ASYMPTOMATIC BACTERIURIA

Since the first report of an association between asymptomatic bacteriuria and low birth weight (< 2,500 g) in 1962, > 30 other studies on the same subject have been published. Some of these confirmed this association while others disputed it. Now, however, by using meta-analysis (a technique considered valid by many but not all statisticians) one may conclude with increased certainty that true associations between asymptomatic bacteriuria and preterm delivery (< 37 weeks of gestation) and asymptomatic bacteriuria and low birth weight do exist. Because asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy remains prevalent and preventable, a review of this important subject is relevant at this time.