Antibiotics vs. no treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy

Antibiotic treatment may reduce the risk of pyelonephritis in pregnancy and may reduce the incidence of low birthweight babies compared to placebo or no treatment.

A Cochrane review included 14 studies with almost 2000 women. Overall the study quality was poor. Antibiotic treatment compared to placebo or no treatment was effective in clearing asymptomatic bacteriuria (risk ratio [RR] 0.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.14 to 0.48). The incidence of pyelonephritis was reduced (RR 0.23, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.41; 11 studies, n=1932). Antibiotic treatment was also associated with a reduction in the incidence of low birthweight babies (RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.93; 6 studies, n=1437)and preterm delivery (RR 0.27, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.62; 2 studies, n=242)was not seen.

Comment: The quality of evidence was downgraded by severe limitations in study quality.

The following decision support rules contain links to this evidence summary:

• Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy

Ədəbiyyat

1. Smaill F, Vazquez JC. Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007 Apr 18;(2):CD000490 [Assessed as up-to-date: 19 March 2015].