10.1576/toag.10.3.156.27418 www.rcog.org.uk/togonline © 2008 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Review 2008;10:156–162 The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 156 Review Urinary tract infection in pregnancy Authors Timothy McCormick / Robin G Ashe / Patricia M Kearney Key content: • Urinary tract infection during pregnancy is common and is associated with significant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. • It can be asymptomatic. • Screening of all women by urine culture should be performed in early pregnancy, despite the cost. • Treatment should be guided by urine culture and sensitivity reports. • Antibiotic treatment should continue for 7 days, as shorter courses are not as effective during pregnancy. Learning objectives: • To identify the clinical presentations. • To understand the evidence base for effective investigation and treatment. Ethical issues: • The empirical use of antimicrobial treatments increases drug resistance and must be balanced against delay in treatment and the associated morbidities. Keywords acute cystitis / asymptomatic bacteriuria / pyelonephritis Please cite this article as: McCormickT, Ashe RG, Kearney PM. Urinary tract infection in pregnancy. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2008;10:156–162. Author details Timothy McCormick MRCOG Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Craigavon Area Hospital, 68 Lurgan Road, Co. Armagh BT63 5QQ, UK Email: tim.mccormick@southerntrust.hscni.net (corresponding author) Robin G Ashe FRCOG Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Department of Urogynaecology, Antrim Area Hospital, Bush Road, Antrim BT41 2RL, UK Patricia M Kearney FRCPath MSc Consultant Microbiologist Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Antrim Area Hospital, Antrim, UK