title: A prospective study of the microflora of nonpuerperal breast abscess.
abstract: The majority of reports concerning nonpuerperal breast abscess (NPBA) identify aerobic and facultative bacterial isolates as the predominant flora in this disease. In the present study, fine-needle aspiration was performed in 29 women with NPBA; 12 (41%) of the patients had a history of chronic NPBA. The mean age of patients was 39.2 years. The aspirated material was cultured both anaerobically and aerobically. A total of 108 bacterial strains were recovered from 32 specimens; two specimens yielded no bacterial growth. A mean of 3.6 different bacteria were recovered from each culture-positive specimen. Anaerobic recovery outweighed aerobic-facultative recovery by a factor of 2:1. Significantly, 37 strains (five aerobes and 32 anaerobes) were harvested only from enriched broth subcultured for four to 14 days after initial culture processing. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (60% of total aerobes) and peptostreptococci (47% of total anaerobes) were the predominant bacterial isolates. These findings indicate that NPBA is due to a mixed flora with a major anaerobic component. Furthermore, the results suggest that routine cultures often overlook the involvement of anaerobes in these infections.
authors: Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226.
authors: A P
authors: AP
authors: Walker
authors: C E
authors: CE
authors: Edmiston
authors: C J
authors: CJ
authors: Krepel
authors: R E
authors: RE
authors: Condon
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000382:microbiology*; D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001941:Breast Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies