Asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy is defined as which?

• A. Bacterial infection of the urine with typical signs and symptoms
• B. Bacterial infection of the urine without typical signs and symptoms
• C. Pyelonephritis with fever
• D. Cystitis with dysuria

Answer: (B)

Asymptomatic bacteriuria is when bacteria are present in the urine but the person has no urinary tract infection symptoms. In pregnancy, this matters because even without symptoms, bacteria can progress and raise the risk of developing pyelonephritis and adverse outcomes for the baby, so screening and treatment are important. The other descriptions describe infections with symptoms—fever with kidney infection, or dysuria with cystitis—which are not asymptomatic. So the best description is bacterial presence in the urine without typical signs and symptoms. After being identified in pregnancy, treatment with a safe antibiotic and follow-up culture are typically used to prevent complications.