Clinical implications in bacteroides bacteremia.

The clinical presentation and results of treatment of 98 patients with documented bacteroides bacteremia have been reviewed. Surgically treatable causes were documented in three-quarters of the patients. No one antibiotic or combination thereof significantly influenced survival. Patterns of death from sepsis were through multiple organ failure. Early recognition, or surgical drainage or debridement, or both, and specific aerobe directed antibiotic therapy remain the first line of therapeutic endeavor.