Background: There is a controversy on the impact of asymptomatic bacteriuria on the development of complications in diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of asymptomatic bacteriuria in hospitalized diabetic patients.

Matreials and methods: This Cross-sectional study was carried out at Kashan Shahid Beheshti hospital in 2007. One-hundred diabetic patients were included in the study. Demographic parameters of participants were registered in a standardized questionnaire. Clean-catch midstream samples of urine were collected and immediately transported to the laboratory. In a patient with no symptoms of UTI, asymptomatic bacteriuria was defined as the presence of at least 10⁵ colony-forming units/ml of 1 or 2 uropathogenic microorganisms in two urine culture. Chi-square and the Fischer exact tests were used for statistical analysis.

Results: Asymptomatic bacteriuria was seen in 20 patients (16 female and 4 men). The most common isolated microorganisms were E. coli (10 cases), coagulase negative staphylococci (6 cases), Klebsiella spp. (2 cases), S. aureus (1 case), and Pseudomonas aeroginosa (1 case). There was a significant association between bacteriuria and the use of urine catheter (P 0.003) [OR: 13 95%, CI: 2.304-73.3].

Conclusion : Regarding the high prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria in diabetic patients and its relevance with urinary catheterization, the use of urine catheter, when possible, is suggested to prevent asymptomatic bacteriuria .