Capnocytophaga in the dental plaque of immunocompromised children with cancer.
OBJECTIVE
(i) To compare the prevalence and levels of Capnocytophaga, a known systemic pathogen in immunocompromised patients, in the dental plaque of healthy children and children with cancer, and (ii) to determine the susceptibility of strains isolated from cancer patients to a range of antibiotics.


METHODS
Thirty-one children with cancer undergoing a first course of immunosuppressive chemotherapy and 30 healthy control children were included in the study. Samples were collected on days 0, 7, 14, and 21 of the cure (and equivalent dates in controls). Susceptibility to antibiotics was tested using an agar dilution method and galleries with predefined concentrations of selected antibiotics.


RESULTS
There was a significant drop in the total anaerobic cultivable flora on day 14 and in the prevalence of Capnocytophaga on days 14 and 21 in the children with cancer. The proportion of Capnocytophaga in the anaerobic flora, however, was high in certain cancer patients. Beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations, imipenem, clindamycin, and tetracycline were the most effective against Capnocytophaga.


CONCLUSIONS
This study showed that Capnocytophaga decreased in prevalence and proportion in the dental plaque of cancer patients during chemotherapy but became predominant in some cases. It is recommended that imipenem or beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations be used to treat Capnocytophaga bacteraemia.
Sixou
J L
JL
Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Rennes Cedex, France. jean-louis.sixou@univ-rennes1.fr
Aubry-Leuliette
A
A
De Medeiros-Battista
O
O
Lejeune
S
S
Jolivet-Gougeon
A
A
Solhi-Pinsard
H
H
Gandemer
V
V
Barbosa-Rogier
M
M
Bonnaure-Mallet
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002206:Capnocytophaga / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D004351:Drug Resistance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D015662:Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination