Peptostreptococcal infection in children.

680 Peptostreptococcus sp. (Ps) were recovered from 598 (34%) of 1,750 specimens obtained from 554 patients. They included 103 Ps asaccharolyticus, 74 Ps magnus, 56 Ps prevotii, 51 Ps micros, 46 Ps anaerobius, 11 Ps morbilorum, and 10 Ps saccharolyticus. Most infections were polymicrobial (in 553 instances or 92%) but in 45 (8%), Ps were recovered in pure culture. Most Ps were isolated from abscesses (237), ears (104), peritoneal fluid (95), lung infections (66), bone (30) and sinuses (24). Predisposing conditions were present in 224 (40%) children. These were previous surgery (54), immunodeficiency (43), malignancy (35), trauma (34), diabetes (23), prematurity (22), steroid therapy (19), foreign body (10) and sickle-cell anemia (7). The organisms most commonly isolated with Ps were Bacteroides sp. (276, including 190 B. fragilis group), Prevotella sp. (159), Fusobacterium sp. (122), Escherichia coli (114), and Staphylococcus aureus (97). Antimicrobial therapy was administered to all but 14 patients. Surgical drainage or correction of pathology was performed in 307 (56%) patients. 10 patients (2%) died of their infection. These data illustrate the importance of Ps and suggests their enhancing potentials in infection in children.