Microbiology of infected epidermal cysts
I. Brook
Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.
Specimens from 231 epidermal cyst abscesses were inoculated on media
supportive for growth of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Of these, 192
yielded bacterial growth. Aerobic or facultative bacteria only were
recovered in 84 specimens (44%), anaerobic bacteria only in 57 specimens
(30%), and mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in 51 specimens (26%). A
total of 315 isolates (162 anaerobes and 153 aerobes) were recovered. An
average of 0.8 aerobic or facultative isolates per infected cyst were
recovered, and this number was unrelated to the cysts' anatomic sites.
However, the number of anaerobic bacteria varied; they were isolated more
frequently in perirectal (1.5 isolates per specimen), vulvovaginal (1.4),
and head (1.1) infections, and less frequently in trunk (0.7) and
extremities (0.4) infections. The predominant aerobic or facultative
bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (81 isolates), group A streptococcus (9
isolates), and Escherichia coli (7 isolates). The predominant anaerobic
organisms were Peptostreptococcus species (85 isolates) and Bacteroides
species (55 isolates, including 12 Bacteroides melaninogenicus and 9
Bacteroides fragilis groups). The study highlights the polymicrobial nature
and predominance of anaerobes in cyst abscesses in the perirectal,
vulvovaginal, and head areas.
