Aerobic and anaerobic microbiology of superficial suppurative thrombophlebitis
I. Brook and E. H. Frazier
Department 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.
