A Single-Center Retrospective Study on the Bacteriological Profile of Breast Abscesses

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Microbiology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Breast abscesses are common, particularly in lactating women due to mastitis.
• Non-lactating women may develop breast abscesses due to factors like diabetes or immunosuppression.
• Understanding the microbiological etiology is key for effective antibiotic therapy and complication prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the microbiological profile of breast abscesses.
• To characterize common causative pathogens and analyze their antibiotic resistance patterns.
• To investigate the prevalence of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) in breast abscesses.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 108 patients diagnosed with breast abscesses.
• Review of demographic data, microbiological findings, and treatment outcomes.
• Bacterial isolates identified using standard microbiological techniques; antibiotic susceptibility testing via disk diffusion.

Main Results:

• Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequent pathogen (41.67%), with 15% being methicillin-resistant (MRSA).
• Other common pathogens included Streptococcus pyogenes (13.89%) and Escherichia coli (9.26%).
• High antibiotic resistance observed in S. aureus, E. coli (10% ESBL-producing), and E. faecalis (5% vancomycin-resistant).

Conclusions:

• Breast abscesses exhibit a diverse microbiological profile, dominated by S. aureus.
• Antibiotic resistance, especially MRSA, presents a significant treatment challenge.
• Empiric antibiotic therapy should be guided by local resistance patterns for optimal outcomes.