Studies on Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vaginal materials

Abstract

In an attempt to isolate Ps. aeruginosa from vaginal materials, one hundred cases of the out-patients at the Mima Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic have been studied bacteriologically by means of microscopic examination by the use of direct smear and by cultivation on the plates of nutrient agar and the glutamic acid medium.
Following results were observed.
1. The microscopic examination of vaginal materials revealed that in the cases of 2nd and 3rd grade of “Reinheitsgrad” the most of the bacteria other than Doderlein's bacilli were Gram positive short bacilli and Gram negative ones were very few.
2. Compared with the case of nutrient agar plate, only one half of the number of colonies appeared in the case of glutamic acid medium on which the streak culture of vaginal materials was made.
Gram positive bacilli were most frequently demonstrated by the microscopic examinations of these colonies on either medium. There was, however, a considerable difference between the microscopic findings of direct smear and postcultural colonies.
3. Two strains of Ps. aeruginosa were isolated from the vaginal material of two pregnant women, one in the second month of pregnancy and the other in the beginning of miscarriage of her 3rd month of pregnancy. Those strains were found to be typical as Ps. aeruginosa.
4. In the cases of two women whose vagina harboured Ps. aeruginosa, spontaneous recovery with a disappearance of bacilli was observed in the later examination and no evidence of pseudomonas infection was noted in other patients.
From these findings it can be said that as far as Ps. aeruginosa is concerned, the vagina of matured women is considerably clean, so that high percentage isolation of the organism from vagina and the occurrence of serious complications caused by pseudomonas will never come unless the organism is introduced from outside by such a factor as hospital infection.