Severe odontogenic infections: Epidemiological, microbiologicaland therapeutic factors

ABSTRACT

Objectives: A retrospective study is made of the odontogenic infections treated in La Paz University Hospital(Madrid, Spain) during 2007 and 2008, with an epidemiological and microbiological analysis of a large group ofpatients.Study Design: A retrospective descriptive study was made, involving the consecutive inclusion of all patients withodontogenic infection requiring admission to our hospital in the period between January 2007 and December2008.Results: A total of 151 patients were included, with a mean age of 40.3 years and a balanced gender distribution.The most frequently affected teeth were those located in the posterior mandibular segments, caries being themain underlying cause. Most isolates comprised mixed flora, particularly viridans streptococci, different speciesof Prevotella, Micromonas micros, and different species of Actinomyces. Susceptibility analysis of the microbialisolates showed a high percentage resistance to clindamycin (42.8% of all isolates), particularly among viridansstreptococci.Conclusions: The use of antibiotics in head and neck infections requires updated protocols based not only on theexisting scientific evidence but also on the epidemiological reality of each center. On the other hand, identificationis required of the surgical factors determining infection and how they influence morbidity associated with thistype of pathology (AU)