[Anaerobic bacteria in clinical specimens of a hospital laboratory (author's transl)]

Over a 14-month period 261 clinical specimens were cultured anaerobically, this figure representing about 3% of the total specimens submitted to the microbiological laboratory. Not accepted for anaerobic culture were stools, sputa, urines, vaginal and urethral swabs and swabs from superficial skin lesions. All materials were sent to the laboratory in an anaerobic transport medium and processed according to the recommendations of the American Society for Microbiology and the Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia. Not included in this figure are blood cultures and cultures from removed venous catheters. 35% of the specimens contained anaerobes. 169 anaerobic strains were isolated. 78 of them belonged to the Bacteroides fragilis group. Clostridium perfringens was found in only 7 cases. 14% of the strains were B. melaninogenicus, 7% other gram-negative non-sporeforming rods. In most of the cases a mixed aerobic-anaerobic flora was found. More than 75% of specimens obtained from infections originating from the lower intestinal tract yielded growth of anaerobes. In infections of the bile duct anaerobes were found in 25% of the cases. In infections of the upper urinary tract anaerobes played no major role. 35% of the isolates of the B. fragilis group were resistant to tetracycline, 17% to cefoxitin and 9% to clindamycin.