Bacteriological findings in cultures of clinical material from Bartholin's abscess

Purulent exudate from 28 cases of Bartholin's abscess were examined for aerobic, anaerobic, and microaerophilic bacteria. Three cases gave no bacterial growth, five cases grew facultative bacteria only, and a further three grew a mixture of facultative and anaerobic bacteria. One case gave a pure growth of a microaerophilic streptococcus. Anaerobic bacteria were the only isolates in 16 cases and Bacteroides species were the most common organisms isolated; they were present as 62.5% of the total anaerobes cultured and accounted for 45.4% of the total bacteria cultured. Escherichia coli was the most common of the facultative organisms, accounting for 18% of the total bacteria. Most infections seemed to be caused by a single organism, anaerobic types predominating.