Terminal bronchopneumonia. A bacteriological and histological study of 111 necropsies

Abstract

SUMMARYOne hundred and eleven consecutive deaths in seven mental hospitals during the months of February to October 1967 were investigated histologically and bacteriologically.Bacteria were present in the lung tissue significantly more frequently when inflammation was present than when it was absent and the differences were significant for both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus; E. coli was isolated from 22(34%) of the 65 patients with inflamed lungs compared with two (4%) of 46 control patients and the corresponding figures for Staph. aureus were 20(31%) of 65 patients compared with seven (15%) of 46 control patients.Some strains of E. coli were serotyped using antisera against 0 antigens 1, 4, 6, 18ab, 18ac, 25, 50, 65, 69 and 75 and the strains most commonly found in the inflamed lungs, spleens and other inflammatory lesions of 25 patients were 06, 018 and 075. These strains were isolated more frequently from these sites than from the faeces of a group of 19 patients with no such lesions.In this series E. coli was the commonest organism to be associated with terminal bronchopneumonia and the possible reasons for this are discussed.

Pneumococcal antigen in pneumonia. A post-mortem study with the histological and bacteriological findings

“…Since the introduction of antibiotics, post-mortem lung studies have shown a striking change in the bacteriology of terminal pneumonia. The pneumococcus, formerly the pathogen isolated from most post-mortem lung cultures (Smillie and Duerschner, 1947), is rarely isolated nowadays, instead other bacteria, mainly coliform bacilli, are found (Kneeland and Price, 1960;Tanner et al, 1969). Clinicians now regard these as important lung pathogens, and patients are often treated with potentially toxic chemotherapeutics.…”