Abstract
Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) refers to a group of common metabolic disorders that share the phenotype of hyperglycemia. Infections occur more commonly in patients with DM due to the hyperglycemic medium that increases the virulence of pathogen.

Aims and Objectives: The present study was aimed to determine the impact of poor glycemic control as a risk factor for symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI) in diabetic patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) during follow-up.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study conducted at Vinayaka Missions Medical College on diabetic patients. Hemoglobin Alc (HbA1c) was quantified spectrophotometrically using HbA1c test kits. All participants were instructed strictly to collect midstream urine sample. Urine samples collected from participants were inoculated on blood agar and MacConkey agar and incubated for overnight at 370°C. If growth occurs, organism was identified by standard microbiological procedures. Symptomatic UTI surveillance was done by instructing participants to contact research personnel if any new symptom/symptoms occurred (follow-up period 3 months) that suggested UTI.

Results: A total of 225 participants were included in the study and categorized as diabetic (n = 175) and non-diabetic as control group (n = 50). A total of 107 diabetic patients had <7 HbA1c levels, 12 (11.21%) urine specimens collected from these patients yielded bacterial growth. Sixty-eight patients had ≥7 HbA1c levels, 19 (27.94%) urine specimens collected from these patients yielded bacterial growth. Among the patients with <7 HbA1c levels, 16.6% of patients developed symptomatic UTI and among the patients with ≥7 HbA1c, 5 (26.3%) patients developed symptomatic UTI.

Conclusion: Poor glycemic control can show the impact on ASB to develop symptomatic UTI.

Key words: Poor Glycemic Control; Asymptomatic Bacteriuria; Urinary Tract Infection