Puerperal endometritis: a prospective microbiologic study

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the flora in the endometrial cavity of two groups of puerperal patients: 47 afebrile control subjects and 27 with endometritis. A transcervical culturing technique designed to avoid cervical contamination and to preserve aerobes, anaerobes, and mycoplasma was employed, and bacterial colony counts were reported semiquantitatively. No difference was found in the flora of these two groups. Furthermore, the most common pathogenic organisms (in decreasing order of frequency) were peptostreptococci, peptococci, Bacteroides sp., gamma-streptococci, enterococci, beta-streptococci, alpha-streptococci, and E. coli.