Bacterial Identification of Acne Vulgaris

Abstract

Background: Acne vulgaris (AV) is a chronic inflammation of the pilosebaceous unit with clinical polymorphic lesion consist of noninflammatory (open and closed comedones) and inflammatory lesions (papules, pustules, and nodules) with varying degree of inflammation and depth. Earlier studies showed that other bacteria might also found and played a role in acne pathogenesis besides Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes). Patients and Methods: This descriptive observational study used cross-sectional method. Samples were collected from 40 subjects with AV. We took the samples from non-inflammatory (closed comedones) and inflammatory lesions (pustule) in each subject, followed by Gram staining, aerobic and anaerobic bacterial culture, and bacterial identification. This research has been approved by the Ethical Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sumatera Utara. Results: There were 12 bacterial species that were identified from 80 samples. We identified Cutibacterium acnes (21,2%) in anaerobic culture. While in aerobic culture, we identified Staphylococcus epidermidis (47,5%), Staphylococcus hominis (17,5%), Staphylococcus aureus (8,7%), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (8,7%), Leuconostoc mesentroides (6,2%), Micrococcus luteus (3,7%), Kocuria varians (2,5%), Staphylococcus vitulinus (1,2%), Staphylococcus cohnii (1,2%), Staphylococcus arlettae (1,2%) and Dermacoccus nishinomyaensis (1,2%). Conclusion: The two most common bacteria in acne vulgaris are Staphylococcus epidermidis and Cutibacterium acnes.