[Anaerobic deep abscesses with unusual location: report of 5 cases]

Anaerobic deep abscesses are rare and may have unusual location leading to severe outcome due to delayed diagnosis and treatment. In order to improve their diagnosis, we report and analyse 5 new cases.

Patients were seen from 1999 to 2003 in a single department of internal medicine of the university hospital of Marseille.

Five new cases were diagnosed consisting in 3 females and 2 males with a medium age of 56,8 years, with unusual location in 4 cases: epidural (2), psoas (1) and sub-diaphragmatic (1) or circumstances in one case of pulmonary abscess unrelated to inhalation. Predisposing conditions thought to compromise resistance to infection were found in all cases: social poverty (4/5), alcoholism (3/5), smoking (4/5), teeth and periodontal disease (4/5), neoplasia (2/5), iatrogenic disease (2/5). Symptoms were insidious (5/5) and unspecific but were always related to the abscess location. Abscesses were frequently found distant from the initial focus of infection because of frequent hematogenous spread (4/5). Drainage of the collection led to bacterial identification in all cases (4/4), although blood cultures could be positive (3/5) and helpful in one case in which drainage was not possible (1/5). The isolated organisms always corresponded to the suspected initial focus (oropharynx 4/5 and digestive 1/5). Finally, combination of surgical drainage and double prolonged antibiotherapy (penicillin+metronidazole) was the elected treatment.

Since hematogenous diffusion is frequent, anaerobic infection should be suspected in any case of deep abscess affecting patients with predisposing conditions such as poverty, severe teeth disease or iatrogenic procedure.