PREVENTION OF PRETERM DELIVERY AND LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT ASSOCIATED WITH ASYMPTOMATIC BACTERIURIA

Since the first report of an association between asymptomatic bacteriu ria and low birth weight (< 2,500 g) in 1962, > 30 other studies on th e same subject have been published. Some of these confirmed this assoc iation while others disputed it. Now, however, by using meta-analysis (a technique considered valid by many but not all statisticians) one m ay conclude with increased certainty that true associations between as ymptomatic bacteriuria and preterm delivery (< 37 weeks of gestation) and asymptomatic bacteriuria and low birth weight do exist. Because as ymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy remains prevalent and preventable, a review of this important subject is relevant at this time.