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. 2020 Oct;11(5):319-326.
doi: 10.24171/j.phrp.2020.11.5.08.

Immunological Profile and Bacterial Drug Resistance in Pregnant Women: A Cross Sectional Study

Ornella Jt Ngalani  1 , Wiliane Jt Marbou  1 , Armelle Tsafack Mbaveng  1 , Victor Kuete  1
Affiliations

Immunological Profile and Bacterial Drug Resistance in Pregnant Women: A Cross Sectional Study

Ornella Jt Ngalani et al. Osong Public Health Res Perspect. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the immunological and bacterial profiles in pregnant women of Bafang-Cameroon.

Methods: Stool and midstream urine were cultured using specific culture media. The disk diffusion method was used for the antimicrobial susceptibility test. T-cell lymphocyte counts (CD3, CD4 and CD8), white blood cell counts, sensitive C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6, were measured by flow cytometry, optical detection, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay solid phase direct sandwich method.

Results: Out of 700 participants, 71.43% were pregnant, and 28.57% were non-pregnant women. The mean age was 29.40 ± 8.27 and 27.41 ± 6.55 years in non-pregnant and pregnant women, respectively. CD4 T-cells were not significantly lower in pregnant women compared with non-pregnant women. There were 43.65% and 56.35% bacteria isolates obtained from urine and stool samples, respectively. Bacteria were mostly isolated in patients with a CD4 T-cell count between 461 and 806 cells/μL. Isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter aerogenes showed 100% resistance in non-pregnant women, however all isolated bacteria were shown to be multidrug resistant in pregnant women. Salmonella sp. (24.3%) and Escherichia coli (21.51%) showed an increase in multidrug resistant phenotypes in pregnant women.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that routine bacteriological analysis during pregnancy is necessary for their follow-up care.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance; immunology; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of bacterial pathogens amongst patients enrolled in the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequency of occurrence of multidrug resistant bacteria isolated from pregnant and non-pregnant women.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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