Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Women with Infertility

Abstract

Objective: To determine the incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in infertile women and to compare its prevalence between women with primary and secondary infertility.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized medical records of female patients with primary and secondary infertility who underwent routine urine screening using flow cytometry (Sysmex UF-5000) as part of infertility management at Kariadi Hospital from 2018 to 2020. Asymptomatic bacteriuria was defined as a bacterial count ≥58/µL in the absence of urinary symptoms.

Results: A total of 137 infertile women with complete medical records were included in the analysis. The overall incidence
of asymptomatic bacteriuria was 80.3% (110/137). Among 88 women with primary infertility, 70 (79.5%) had asymptomatic
bacteriuria, compared to 40 of 49 women (81.6%) with secondary infertility. There was no statistically significant difference
between the two groups (p = 0.76). In 59.1% of bacteriuria cases, the findings were accompanied by positive markers such as leukocyturia, leukocyte esterase, or nitrite.

Conclusion: The incidence of asymptomatic bacteriuria among women presenting with infertility is notably high. No significant difference was observed between primary and secondary infertility groups. These findings suggest that routine urine screening may be a valuable, though currently underutilized, component of the initial infertility evaluation.

Keywords: asymptomatic bacteriuria, flow cytometry, infertility, urinalysis, urinary tract infection.