Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Significant bacteriuria is associated with clinical and obstetric complications. The existing studies on the profile of urinary pathogens in pregnant women have widely divergent results and they hardly include data on pregnant adolescents. METHODS: This observational retrospective study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in the city of São Paulo with 388 pregnant adolescents and 2547 pregnant low-risk obstetric care adults who began prenatal care between January 2010 and January 2016. They were compared in terms of urine sediment, urine culture, and antibiogram results. RESULTS: The prevalence of bacteriuria was 17.01% (66/388) among adolescents and 10.13% (258/2547) among adults. Adolescence was a risk factor for bacteriuria in pregnancy (OR=1.82, CI95%=1.35-2.44, p=0.08). The most frequently isolated pathogen in urine culture was Escherichia coli, both in adolescents (49%) and in adults (42.18%). In positive urine cultures, urinary leukocytes were present in greater numbers in adolescents than in adults (p<0.001). Resistance to quinolones in general was more frequent among adults (OR=5.86, CI95%=0.78-44.20, p<0.001), but the tendency was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Escherichia coli and the less frequent Streptococcus agalactiae were the etiologic agents most often found in the urine cultures both of adolescents and adults. Higher rates of bacteriuria and of abnormal urine sediments prevailed among adolescents.