Urinary Tract Infections in Pregnancy Differential Diagnoses

Updated: Jul 13, 2023
  • Author: Raisa O Platte, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Edward David Kim, MD, FACS  more...
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DDx

Diagnostic Considerations

The differential diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) in pregnancy includes the following:

Other disorders to consider include the following:

  • Glomerulonephritis
  • Group B streptococcal colonization
  • Sexually transmitted infection (eg, gonorrhea, nongonococcal urethritis, Mycoplasma genitalium infection [22] )
  • Threatened or incomplete miscarriage
  • Urge incontinence

Common symptoms of a UTI, including urgency and frequency, can also be normal symptoms of pregnancy.

Vaginal infections can cause or mimic UTIs, which are common in women of reproductive age, affecting 25-35% of women aged 20-40 years. Discriminating between the 2 depends on the results of vaginal and urinary cultures (see Urine Studies).