M036: Study of bacterial and fungal flora in respiratory tract
specimens from Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients
M.E. Alvarez1, J.J. Velasco-Martínez1, R.Cantón1
J.L. Patier2, Sánchez-Sousa A1- Departments of Microbiology1
and Paediatrics2. "Ramon y Cajal " Hospital. Madrid.
Spain.
Chronic lung infection in CF patients is usually associated with a limited number of micro-organisms. Staphylococcus aureus (SA), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA), and Aspergillus spp (AS) are the organisms recovered more frequently from the respiratory tract of CF patients.
From June 1993 to December 1994, 615 sputum and bronchial specimens from 75 CF patients were quantitatively processed for bacterial and fungal pathogens . The aim of this work was to study the incidence of these bacteria and fungi.
Results. Results are summarized in tables 1,11.
Table 1.- Microbiological incidence Table 11-Fungal incidence
(N=387)
Micro-organisms %samples Micro-organisms %samples P. aeruginosa 61.7 C. albicans (CA) 52.85 S.aureus 45.8 Aspergiltus spp.(AS 19.84 H. influenzae 3.7 CA+AS 8.25
There was a strong association (p<0.01) between positive fungal cultures associated with positive PA cultures. In our population a higher rate of SA colonization was observed than that reported in the literature. There were higher rates of yeast colonization than with filamentous fungi, particularly Candida vs. Aspergillus.
Factors predisposing to microbiological colonization and infection in CF patients are well known but antimicrobial and corticosteroid therapy probably influence on the rnicrobiological flora in the airways from CF patients, as shown by the high rates in fungal colonization.