Bacteriological characteristics of primary breast abscesses in patients from the community in the era of microbial resistance.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the etiological profile and antimicrobial resistance in breast abscess cultures from patients from the community, treated at a public hospital located in Porto Alegre, Brazil. This is an retrospective cross-sectional study that evaluated the medical records of patients with bacterial isolates in breast abscess secretion cultures and their antibiograms, from January 2010 to August 2022. Based on 129 positive cultures from women from the community diagnosed with breast abscesses and treated at Fêmina Hospital, 99 (76.7%) of the patients had positive cultures for Staphylococcus sp, 91 (92%) of which were cases of Staphylococcus aureus. Regarding the resistance profile of S. aureus, 32% of the strains were resistant to clindamycin, 26% to oxacillin and 5% to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The antimicrobials vancomycin, linezolid and tigecycline did not show resistance for S. aureus. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen found in the breast abscess isolates during the study period. Oxacillin remains a good option for hospitalized patients. The use of sulfamethoxazole plus trimethoprim should be considered as a good option for use at home, due to its low bacterial resistance, effectiveness and low cost.