Infections dues aux bactéries anaérobies de la flore endogène (Clostridium difficile et Actinomyces exclus)

Anaerobic bacteria can cause a variety of endogenous infections. Because of their fastidious nature, they are difficult to isolate from infectious sites, and are often overlooked. Anaerobic infections can occur in all body sites, including the central nervous system, the oral cavity, head and neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, bone, and soft tissues. Their direct pathogenicity is well established in many infectious sites. The lack of adequate therapy may result in clinical failures. Their isolation requires appropriate methods of collection, transportation and specimen cultivation. Treatment is complicated by their slow growth, their polymicrobial nature and their growing resistance to antimicrobials. Antimicrobial therapy is often the only type of therapy required, whereas in a surgical approach it is used as an important adjunctive treatment. Because anaerobes are generally associated with aerobic organisms, the choice of antimicrobial agents should provide coverage of both types of pathogens.