Ii. Clinical Studies on Forty-Six Patients With Acute Enteritis; Necropsy Studies

Abstract

The many studies of the bacteriology of acute enteritis in infants and children have failed to agree on any single microbic etiologic factor. The majority, however, have incriminated various members of the B. dysenteriae group, mainly on the basis of their presence in the stools of such patients. This in itself is not a sufficient criterion for such a deduction. In common with others, we have isolated organisms of the dysenteriae group from the stools of normal infants and young children or of subjects with conditions other than enteritis.The present report details clinical and certain bacteriologic data on a series of forty-six patients with acute enteritis who were studied during the fall of 1931. There was no selection of cases. Cultures were made as soon as possible after admission and in some instances at necropsy. Reference should be made to the first part of this article and to those parts that follow in this issue.Clinical Description of Patients.\p=m-\Intable 7 is given a summary of such factors as age, infection of the upper respiratory tract and mor¬ tality. The patients were acutely ill. In the majority enteritis had developed two or three days after the beginning of an acute infection of the upper respiratory tract. The onset was sudden, with a temperature of from 103 to 105 F., vomiting, prostration, frequent stools and rapid dehydration. The stools were watery and green ; most of them contained mucus ; some contained blood and some, a variable amount of pus. The number of stools varied considerably. Some patients had from five to seven during the twenty-four hours, while others had from eighteen to Downloaded From: http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/ by a University of Auckland User on 06/04/2015