Rollet, R. *; Hardie, N.; Costa. N., Couto, E.; Mendez, N.; Sawicki, M.; Fainboim, H.
Hospital de Enfermedades Infecciosas Dr. "F.J. Muñiz. Buenos Aires. Argentina.

A study to know the anaerobic bacteria implicated in hepatic abscesses was carried out.

From 1990 to 1997, 38 patients with hepatic abscesses, aged between 13 and 71 (x 40,8) were evaluated.

Abscess specimens and blood were obtained and processed anaerobically and aerobically by standard methods.

Anaerobic and aerobic bacteria (excluding M. tuberculosis) were recovered from 25 patients; in 20 cases, microorganisms were isolated only from the abscess specimen; in 3 only from blood samples and in 2 from both: abscess and blood

A total of 37 organisms (1 to 4 per sample) were isolated, 54% of them were aerobes and 46% anaerobes.

The anaerobic bacteria isolated were B. fragilis (41%), Fusobacterium spp (11,8%), Peptostreptococcus spp (11,8%), P. acnes (11,8%), B. caccae (5,9%), B. distasonis (5,9%), B. ovatus (5,9%) and B. thetaiotaomicron (5,9%).

Between the aerobic bacteria, the more frecuent were: Streptococcus spp, E. coli, Klebsiella spp, Nocardia spp, Salmonella spp and S. aureus.

The majority of the anaerobes recovered belonged to the genus Bacteorides with B. fragilis being the most frequent followed by non fragilis - B. fragilis group species.