Persistence of Polymicrobial Abscesses in the Poorly Controlled Diabetic Host

Abstract

Polymicrobial infections are frequently found in soft tissue infections of the lower extremities in diabetic patients. The relative susceptibility to and persistence of soft tissue polymicrobial infections of diabetic and nondiabetic mice using bacteria commonly found in clinical foot infections were studied. Subcutaneous abscesses were induced in three groups of diabetic and nondiabetic mice using: (1) E. coli and enterococcus, (2) enterococcus and Bacteroides fragilis (B. fragilis), and (3) E. coli and B. fragilis. Abscesses were removed at 1 and 2 wk for total colony counts. At 1 wk, there was a significantly greater bacterial growth in the abscesses of the diabetic mice compared with the nondiabetic mice only in the group injected with enterococcus and B. fragilis. There were significantly higher colony counts in the diabetic compared with the nondiabetic mice in all three groups at 2 wk after injection of the bacteria. Two weeks after injection of inocula containing B. fragilis, both in combination with E. coli or enterococcus, all nondiabetic mice had eradicated B. fragilis from the abscesses, but significant numbers of B. fragilis persisted in the abscesses of the diabetic mice. In the diabetic mice, the presence of enterococci was more synergistic for growth of B. fragilis than was the presence of E. coli. These studies demonstrate that the bacteria of polymicrobial soft tissue infections persist for a longer period of time in the diabetic compared with the nondiabetic host. In addition, B. fragilis has increased pathogenicity in the diabetic compared with the nondiabetic host, particularly in the presence of enterococci.