title: pH of pus collected from periapical abscesses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the pH of pus collected from periapical abscesses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients (Male = 17/Female = 23) between the ages 17 and 37 years, each with a periapical abscess and with no relevant medical history, were recruited. All the participants had moderate-to-severe pain on percussion accompanied by localized or generalized swelling. At least 1 mL of pus was aspirated from each participant using a No 20 gauge needle. A pH meter was used to define the pH of the pus immediately following aspiration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean pH of pus from the periapical abscesses of patients was 6.68 +/- 0.324 with a range between 6.0 and 7.3. There was no statistically significant difference in pH by gender or age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mean pH of pus from periapical abscesses was generally acidic, but some samples (two female and three male) were neutral and some samples (four female and one male) were alkaline.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. nekoofarmh@cardiff.ac.uk
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Nekoofar
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Namazikhah
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sheykhrezae
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kazemi
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Aseeley
authors.forename: P M H
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Dummer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D010482:Periapical Abscess / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013492:Suppuration / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult