Outcome of pregnancy in an Oxford-Cardiff cohort of women with previous bacteriuria.

To investigate the influence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in childhood on subsequent pregnancy, we reviewed the outcome of 139 pregnancies in 88 women who were first identified during a programme of screening schoolgirls for asymptomatic bacteriuria carried out between 1970-1972. Data were analysed for the following groups: 50 pregnancies in 28 women with known renal scars (group 1); 16 pregnancies in 14 women with normal kidneys and reflux (group 2); 73 pregnancies in 46 women with normal urinary tracts (group 3); 139 healthy controls. Women in group 1 had a 3.3-fold increased relative risk of hypertension (p < 0.01) and a 7.6-fold increased risk of pre-eclampsia (p < 0.05) compared to controls, and a higher rate of obstetric interventions, including emergency caesarean section. Women in groups 2 and 3 appeared to carry a slightly increased risk of hypertension during the last trimester (RR = 1.8) but there were no significant differences in this or the incidence of pre-eclampsia or mode of delivery. Bacteriuria was more prevalent in all index groups compared to controls (37 per cent vs. 8 per cent, p < 0.01) and included four cases of acute pyelonephritis in in the study group. Fetal outcome was satisfactory in all cases. These results suggest that women with renal scars are at risk of hypertension and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy but that modern obstetric care minimizes these risks.