Sickle Cell Trait and Urinary Tract Infection During Pregnancy

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Abstract
The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria and the relationship of asymptomatic bacteriuria to the development of clinically apparent urinary tract infection have been investigated in 475 pregnant women with sickle cell trait. The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria was significantly higher among women with sickle cell trait than Negro women without sickle cell trait, being 13.9% in the former and 6.4% in the latter. The incidence of overt urinary tract infection developing during pregnancy as well as a previous history of urinary tract infection was significantly higher in bacteriuric women with sickle cell trait than in bacteriuric women whose red blood cells did not sickle. Urologic evaluation following delivery revealed that 19 of 33 bacteriuric women with sickle cell trait had radiographic abnormalities indicative of chronic pyelonephritis.