A study of asymptomatic bacteriuria in North Indian type 2 diabetic patients

The prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in diabetic patients varies from 9 to 27 % in various studies which is certainly higher as compared to healthy individuals. The risk factors which lead to increased prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in diabetic patients are immune system dysregulation, development of bladder dysfunction and prostatism. Studies have reported that ASB has a higher prevalence in diabetic individuals as compared to nondiabetics. Patients having type 2 diabetes mellitus along with age- and sex-matched controls who were hemodynamically stable were enrolled. A prospective case-control study was done. A total of 200 patients were enrolled, and they were divided into two groups, i.e. those with diabetes and nondiabetic patients (age- and sex-matched controls) without symptoms of UTI. Urine examination and biochemical investigations of the patients were done. In our study, the prevalence of ASB among the diabetic patients was significantly higher 28.2 % as compared to 7.5 % in the controls (p = 0.001). The main risk factors for asymptomatic bacteriuria in our study were female sex (p = 0.003), increased age (p = 0.007), longer duration of diabetes mellitus (p = 0.003), poor glycemic control (p < 0.001) and recent urinary tract infection (p = 0.02). There were no significant differences in the serum creatinine levels in the patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria among diabetics as compared to the culture-negative patients. The presence of ASB may be considered a marker of poorly controlled and long-standing diabetes.