Abstract

Increase in life threatening oral facial infection despite the use of antimicrobial among patients attending muhimbili national Hospital, Tanzania has made it imperative to investigate bacteria causing infections. However, comprehensive anaerobic bacteriology of clinical specimens is expensive and time consuming procedure. This study aim therefore at providing information on the use of clinical clue, to diagnose anaerobic infection among patients with oral and maxillofacial infections. A hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on Seventy participants (age between 19 to 70yrs) among patients, attening department of oral and maxillofacial surgery of the Muhimbili national hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania over a period of eight months. Study participants were interviewed using a prepared questionnaire.Special clinical form was used to check for clinical presentation of the lesion .The specimen were collected and transported in anaerobically prereduced transport medium for processing in the laboratory isolation and identification which were done employing standard bacteriologic techniques. Antibiotic sensitivity testing for isolates was, detected following the guidline of clinical and laboratory standards. 70% of patient was presented with one or more clinical sign of anaerobic infection and their entire clinical sample obtained yielded growth of anaerobes.This study revealed the need for clinicians to consider pointers of anaerobic infections, whenever clerking patients with oral and maxillofacial infections.

Key words: Anaerobes, oral and maxillofacial infection, clinical clue.