title: Anaerobic bacteria in dentoalveolar abscesses.
abstract: The present study was initiated to determine the bacteriology of 40 orofacial abscesses of dental origin in patients who had taken antibiotics for several days. Bacteria were isolated from all but 2 specimens. Aerobic or facultative anaerobic bacteria were isolated in 21 cases, obligate anaerobic bacteria in 17 cases, whereas in 11 cases, polymicrobial growth was revealed. The average number of bacterial species was 2.1 per specimen. Gram positive aerobic micro-organisms predominated, namely, Staphylococcus epidermidis followed by Streptococci (group A) and Staphylococcus aureus. Among obligate anaerobes, Gram positive micro-organisms, peptostreptococci and peptococci were more often isolated, in the following decreasing order: Ps. productus, Ps. intermedius, Ps. parvulus, Ps. anaerobius, Pc. constellatus, Pc. prevotii. Gram negative anaerobic rods were detected in a small number of cases, namely B. corrodens, B. fragilis, B. melaninogenicus, B. ochraceus, B. oralis. Quantitative determination did not show any meaningful difference between aerobic and anaerobic isolates. Susceptibility tests against a series of antibiotics showed that ampicillin was the most active in aerobes and cefoxitin in anaerobes.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010460:Peptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010462:Peptostreptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010482:Periapical Abscess / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents