The Pattern of Urinary Tract Symptoms During Pregnancy

Objective: during pregnancy remarkable changes occur, in structure and functions of urinary tract. these changes often predispose to the development of urinary tract disorder or may predispose to worsening of renal disease and its sequelae. our objective was to determine the pattern of urinary tract symptoms during pregnancy. methodology: this descriptive study included 520 pregnant patients, out of 2134 admitted in the antenatal and labour wards of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, unit-iii, liaquat university hospital, hyderabad from 1st april 2006 to 31st march 2007. women with history of diabetes, chronic renal failure or complaining of urinary symptoms before index pregnancy were excluded. other variables of study were urinary symptomatology. all women underwent complete examination of urine through various tests including culture and sensitivity. results: during the study period, 520 patients were analyzed. out of these, 49 (9.4%) patients were diagnosed as having urinary problems. urinary tract infections were diagnosed in 34 out of 520 (6.5%) gravidas, acute renal failure in 11 (2.1%), nephrolithiasis in 2(0.4%), acute urinary retention in 2(0.4%) of patients. majority of the patients belonged to the age group 21-25 years. majority were multi gravidas and in the third trimester. data analysis of our study showed that 316(60.8%) of the study population reported the symptom of frequency of micturition. stress incontinence and voiding difficulties were reported by 37% and 35.2% respectively. conclusion: common urinary problems in pregnancy are urinary tract infections, acute renal failure, nephrolithisis, and acute retention of urine. common symptoms are frequency of micturition, stress incontinence and voiding difficulties.