Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Microorganisms Isolated from Orofacial Infections

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine an effective antimicrobial therapy ofcausative agents for orofacial abscesses. In order to do that, bacterial strains isolated from patientsamples were identified based on “bacterial fatty acid profiles” and determined the antimicrobialsusceptibilities by using disc diffusion test for aerobic bacteria, and E test for anaerobic bacteria.Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out in 71 patients with a diagnosis oforofacial infections in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic of Atatürk University. Aerobic andanaerobic bacteria were isolated from 71 clinical specimens by Microbial Identification Systemand their antibiotic sensitivity was tested. Results: The most frequently isolated species were Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp.and Bacteroides spp. The highest rate of resistance was detected in the aerobic strains againstpenicillin (58.4%), followed by eriythromycin (46.7%), clindamycin (35.1%), tetracycline(32.5%), amoxycillin/clavulonic acid (31.1%) and cefazoline (27.3%), respectively. The highestrate of resistance was detected in the anaerobic strains against to penicillin (60%), clindamycin(53.3%), metronidazole (30%), cefoxitin (20%) piperacillin/tazobactam (11.6%) and imipenem(0.3%), respectively. Conclusions: In order to treat orofacial infections more effectively, and to prevent antimicrobialresistance which has increased recently, antibiotic susceptility tests should be performedroutinely in regions where antibacterial resistance is high like our area.