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Aerobic and anaerobic microbiology of superficial suppurative thrombophlebitis
1Department of Pediatrics, Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Md, USA.
Objective:
To study the aerobic and anaerobic microbiologic characteristics of superficial suppurative thrombophlebitis.
Design:
Retrospective review of microbiologic and clinical data.
Setting:
Navy Hospital in Bethesda, Md.
Results:
Sixty-one isolates, 36 aerobic and 25 anaerobic, were isolated from samples obtained from 42 patients. Aerobic bacteria only were found in 26 (62%) patients; anaerobic only, in 11 (26%); and mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, in five (12%). The predominant aerobic bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (n = 9), Escherichia coli (n = 7), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 4), and Klebsiella sp (n = 3). The most frequently recovered anaerobic bacteria were Peptostreptococcus sp (n = 8), Propionibacterium acnes (n = 6), Bacteroides fragilis group (n = 5), Prevotella intermedia (n = 3), and Fusobacterium nucleatum (n = 3). Propionibacterium acnes and Peptostreptococcus sp were associated with cannula-related superficial suppurative thrombophlebitis; B fragilis and Enterobacteriaceae, with abdominal surgery or pathology; and S aureus and P aeruginosa and Citrobacter sp, with burns.
Conclusion:
These data illustrate the importance of anaerobic bacteria in superficial suppurative thrombophlebitis.