Problematic Features of Anaerobic Infection in Gastroenterological Surgery

Shigetomi Iwai

Third Department of Surgery, Nihon University School of Medicine

The clinical significance of anaerobic infections continues to gain more ground as more of these bacteria are isolated in more and more medical facilities. Not only do they have a high detection rate, but also their toxicity levels should not be ignored. In patients in whom anaerobes had been detected, a great majority were mixed infections where a host of other bacterial agents came into play, although the anaerobes were often the majority in such cases. Anaerobes that are believed to be only mildly virulent may at times become highly pathogenic. For instance, even among anaerobic gram-negative rods, Bacteroides spp. and their production of β-lactamase, the enzyme enabling these bacteria to resist many third generation cephem drugs, are worth noting. Within the digestive tract, anaerobic bacteria are the majority among a spectrum of other bacteria; therefore, the prevention and treatment of infections including anaerobic infections becomes a necessity in the gastroenterological field.

Key words
anaerobic infection, B. fragilis, β-lactamase

Reprint requests
Shigetomi Iwai Third Department of Surgery, Nihon University School of Medicine
30-1 Oyaguchi-Kamimachi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173 JAPAN

Accepted
October 9, 1996

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