A total of 220 microbiology departments in 205 general hospitals, 12 university hospitals, and 3 military hospitals were surveyed by questionnaire during the period March-May 1996 in order to evaluate the status of diagnostic anaerobic bacteriology in Italy. Responses were received from 47 laboratories (21.3%). The number of beds in the responding facilities varied widely (129-2,200), as did the number of specimens tested for anaerobic bacteriology (50-29,900). In most cases (94%), the microbiologist made the decision to culture and to proceed to further identification of isolates (mainly by commercial systems), depending on the adequacy of samples. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed in 52.5% of laboratories surveyed. Although it is difficult to draw relevant conclusions owing to the poor response rate, it seems that the condition of anaerobic bacteriology in Italy is far from satisfactory. Among major limitations are low interest in the field, lack of standardization of procedures, poor utilization of reference centers, and limited technological resources.
