Anaerobes and septic abortion

Abstract

The bacterial flora of the genital tracts of twenty-two patients with septic abortion and twenty normal women (as controls) were studied to determine the significant aetiological agents. The predominant flora qualitatively and quantitatively in the twenty-two patients were anaerobes. liacteroides hivitts was isolated from all the twenty-two patients and from twelve out of twenty normal controls. The next commonest anaerobes were 11. asaccltarolytictts (four teen out of twenty-two patients), li. mehtninogenicus (ten out of twenty-two). li fragiIis (eleven out of twenty-two), li. disiens (eight out of twenty-two) and anaerobic cocci (six out of twenty-two): they were also isolated from nine out of twenty, twelve, zero, eight and three control subjects respectively. The commonest facultative bacteria isolated from both the patients and afebrile controls were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella aerogenes and Streptococcus facialis. The comparative increase in number of patients colonized by the anaerobes and theincrease in the bacteria, by quantitative assessment m the patient group, signify the importance of anaerobe s in septic abortion