Risk factors for third-generation cephalosporin resistant Enterobacteriaceae in gestational urine cultures: A retrospective cohort study based on centralized electronic health records

Third-generation-cephalosporin resistant Enterobacteriaceae (3GCR-EB) carriage in pregnant women poses challenges for infection control and therapeutic decisions. The factors associated with multidrug resistant Enterobacteriaceae carriage in the gestational period are not well documented. The aim of our study was to identify risk factors associated with 3GCR-EB isolation in gestational urine cultures. The study was designed as retrospective cohort based on centralized electronic health records database. Women delivered in Clalit Health Services hospitals in Israel in 2009–2013 and provided urine culture(s) during pregnancy were included. Multivariable analysis using the Generalized Estimating Equations model was used to assess risk factors for 3GCR-EB isolation in gestational urine cultures. The study included 15,282 pregnant women with urine cultures yielding Enterobacteriaceae (EB). The proportion of 3GCR-EB in EB isolates was 3.9% (n = 603). The following risk factors were associated with 3GCR-EB isolation: multiple hospital admissions during the year before delivery (OR,1.47;95% CI,1.21–1.79), assisted fertilization procedure (OR,1.53; 95% CI,1.12–2.10), Arab ethnicity (OR,1.22; 95% CI,1.03–1.45), multiple antibiotic courses (OR,1.76; 95% CI,1.29–2.40), specifically, cephalosporins (OR,1.56; 95% CI,1.26–1.95), fluoroquinolones (OR,1.34; 95% CI,1.04–1.74), or nitrofurantoin (OR,1.29; 95% CI,1.02–1.64). The risk factors identified by this study for 3GCR-EB in gestation, can be easily generalized for pregnant women in the Israeli population. Moreover, these risk factors, other than ethnicity, are applicable to pregnant women worldwide. The information of previous antibiotic treatments, hospitalization in the last year and assisted fertilization procedure can be easily accessed and used for appropriate infection control practices and antimicrobial therapy.