Anaerobes isolated from clinical material over three years

Data on anaerobic bacteria isolated from clinical specimens at the bacteriology department within the 3-year period (1992-1994) were analysed. Anaerobic cultivation was carried out in all aspirates and swabs were transferred in transport media in syringes or blood cultures. Established growth occurred in all samples cultivated in thioglycollate broth after 4 days of incubation. Cultivation methods included enrichment media, GasPak jar, and API (BioMerieux) for final identification. A sulfite-reduction test using the Wilson-Blair medium and the Ellner-Smith sporulation medium was also used for the isolation of Clostridium perfringens. Anaerobes were diagnosed in 899 samples. Wound swabs (266 samples) and aspirates (106 samples) were the most common clinical material used. In total, 964 anaerobes were isolated: Peptostreptococcus species (299 strains), Eubacterium species (188 strains), Propionibacterium species (153 strains), Bacteroides fragilis(149 strains), Bacteroides species (95 strains) and Clostridium perfringens(80 strains).