Anaerobic and aerobic bacteriology of decubitus ulcers in children

Forty-two children with decubitus ulcers were studied using aerobic and anaerobic techniques. Anaerobic bacteria were isolated in 21 (50%) of the patients, five times as the only isolates and 16 times mixed with aerobes. Aerobes only were present in 20 (48%) of the patients. There were a total of 83 isolates, 46 aerobes and 37 anaerobes, with an average of two species per specimen (1.1 aerobes and 0.9 anaerobes). The predominant anaerobic isolates were gram-positive cocci (17), Bacteroides fragilis (6), and Fusobacterium nucleatum (4). The most common aerobic isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (23), Group A beta hemolytic streptococci (6), Hemophilus influenzae (5), and Enterobacter agglomerans (5). The polymicrobial etiology of decubitus ulcers in hospitalized children is demonstrated.