title: [Investigate of nasopharyngeal flora in highly aged patients].
abstract: To clarify the bacteriological interpretation of flora in the nasopharynx of highly aged patients (n = 107), healthy nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained from subjects of advanced age. Chief pathogenic bacteria isolated from highly aged persons were coagulase negative Staphylococcus (43 strains), Corynebacterium spp. (14 strains), methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (beta-lactamase production and non-production) (16 strains), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (beta-lactamase production) (6 strains). Chief nonpathogenic bacteria isolated from highly aged persons were alpha-streptococcus (14 strains), Neisseria sp (3 strains). Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis which are the chief bacteria isolated from children, demonstrated only 3 strains for each bacteria. In cases showing detection of multiple detected bacteria, common combinations were non-pathogenic bacteria and weakly pathogenic bacteria and enteric bacteria and pathogenic bacteria. The differences between nasopharyngeal flora of children and highly aged persons are suspected to be due to the differences in immunological and anatomical factors. We should actively examine these factors in highly aged subjects.
authors.forename: Yoshihumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uno
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification*