On the resident aerobic bacterial skin flora in unaffected skin of patients with atopic dermatitis and in healthy controls.

In 14 patients with atopic dermatitis the superficial bacteria from unaffected skin were extracted with the scrub method, aerobically cultured, and analysis qualitatively and quantitatively. For comparison, 12 healthy subjects served as control group. Staphylococcus aureus, as well as coagulase-negative staphylococci were significantly increased in patients with atopic dermatitis. It is assumed that special characteristics of the horny layer in atopic dermatitis favor the growth of aerobic bacteria. The qualitative biotyping and phage typing gave no support to the claim that special bacteria dominate the microbial flora of the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis.