Etiological spectrum of odontogenic and non-odontogenic abscesses in oral and maxillofacial surgery

IntroductionFor their easier study, abscesses in the maxillofacial area are divided according to their clinical picture into acute and chronic, and according to their origin—into odontogenic and non-odontogenic.Materials and MethodsIn this article, an analysis of 167 patients with odontogenic and non-odontogenic limited exudative diseases in the maxillofacial area, hospitalized in the Clinic of Maxillofacial Surgery at the St. Marina University Hospital, Varna, Bulgaria, for a period of one year—from 01.07.2022 until 30.06.2023, was conducted.Results and DiscussionIn 56 of all 167 patients (23 with odontogenic and 33 with non-odontogenic abscesses), no microorganisms were isolated as the causative agents of the infection. Out of all 167 patients examined, in 81 (45 with odontogenic and 36 with non-odontogenic abscesses), representatives of the resident microflora were isolated—a polyinfection caused by normal inhabitants of the oral cavity in humans. After the exclusion from the analysis of these 56 patients with sterile cultures, it was found that in 81 of the total of 111 patients with isolated pathogens, which is 73% of all examined individuals, the inflammation was caused by resident microflora containing more than one bacterial species.ConclusionThe resident microflora predominated, represented by more than one bacterial species (81 out of 111), followed by the classic cause of purulent infections: S. aureus (8 out of 11), C. freundii (4 out of 111), E. coli (3 out of 111), S. pyogenes and K. oxytoca represented by 3 each of all isolates. P. aeruginosa, S. pneumoniae, E. faecalis, P. oris, and C. diversus were found in only one of all prepared antibiograms, and representatives of the Candida species were found in a total of 4 materials—3 with C. albicans and 1 with C. tropicalis