Anaerobic Bacterial Infection Clinical Trial
Official title:
Detection of Anaerobes in Different Clinical Samples
Early detection of anaerobic bacteria to avoid its serious comlications
Infections caused by anaerobic bacteria are common and may be serious and
life-threatening.Obligately anaerobic bacteria do not grow on solid media in room air (0.04%
carbon dioxide and 21% oxygen); facultatively anaerobic bacteria can grow in the presence or
absence of air. Microaerophilic bacteria do not grow at all aerobically or grow poorly, but
grow better under 10% carbon dioxide or anaerobically. Anaerobic bacteria can be divided into
strict anaerobes that can not grow in the presence of more than 0.5% oxygen and moderate
anaerobic bacteria that are able of growing between 2 and 8% oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria
usually do not possess catalase, but some can generate superoxide dismutase which protects
them from oxygen.
Anaerobes are the predominant components of the bacterial flora of normal human skin and
mucous membranes, and are therefore a common cause of bacterial infections of endogenous
origin. Infections due to anaerobic bacteria can evolve all body systems and sites . The
predominant ones include: abdominal, pelvic, respiratory, and skin and soft tissues
infections. Because of their fastidious nature, they are difficult to isolate from infectious
sites and are often overlooked. Failure to direct therapy against these organisms often leads
to clinical failures. Their isolation requires appropriate methods of collection,
transportation, and cultivation of specimens. Treatment of anaerobic bacterial infection is
complicated by the slow growth of these organisms, which makes diagnosis in the laboratory
possible only after several days, by their often polymicrobial nature and by the growing
resistance of anaerobic bacteria to antimicrobial agent.
Almost all anaerobic infections originate from the patient's own microflora. Poor blood
supply and tissue necrosis lower the oxidation-reduction potential and favor the growth of
anaerobes. Any condition that lowers the blood supply to an affected area can predispose to
anaerobic infection. Therefore, foreign body, malignancy, surgery, edema, shock, traum and
vascular disease may predispose to anaerobic infection. Previous infection with aerobic or
facultative organisms also may make the local tissue conditions more favorable for the growth
of anaerobic organisms. The human defense mechanisms also may be impaired by anaerobic
conditions .
;