The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Iranian Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is defined as the presence of bacteria in urine without having signs and symptoms. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the overall prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria among Iranian pregnant women. METHODS Major national and international databases were searched up to November 2015, including Scientific Information Database, MagIran, Web of Science, Medline, Scopus, Science Direct and Ovid. The checklist of the STROBE statement was used for evaluating the quality of reporting. The extracted data were analyzed and the results were reported using a random-effects model with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS From 3709 obtained studies, 20 included in the meta-analysis, which involved 15108 pregnant women. The overall prevalence of ASB was 0.13 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.17). The prevalence of ASB in the northern and southern regions of Iran was 0.13 (95% CI: 0.09, 0.18) and 0.11 (95% CI: 0.05, 0.16), respectively. CONCLUSION Prevalence of ASB among Iranian pregnant women is considerable. Due to the complications of ASB for pregnant women and their children, preventative planning and control of ASB among pregnant women in Iran is necessary.