Aerobic and anaerobic bacteriology of chronic adenoid disease in children

Bacterial cultures from nasopharyngeal swabs of children after adenoidectomy and from the removed adenoid tissue in the same patient group were compared. At the same time, the colony-forming unit, as a measure of viable bacterial cells and the composition of isolated bacteria were also determined in the case of adenoid tissue. Our findings showed that the culture results of nasopharyngeal swabs and inner part of the adenoid tissue are in close correlation. Polymicrobial aerobic-anaerobic flora was present in all instances. The predominant aerobic isolates in all two groups were S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis. Anaerobic bacteria most commonly recovered in the adenoid were Peptostreptococcus spp., Prevotella spp., and Fusobacterium spp.