Pneumococcal C and type polysaccharide detection in the concentrated urine of patients with bacteremia

The C polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae was detected in the concentrated urine of 23 of 33 patients with pneumococcal bacteremia using latex agglutination. Type-specific polysaccharides were detected in the urine of 17 of these 33 patients including 4 patients lacking C polysaccharide in their urine. These 4 with the 23 detected above gave a total sensitivity of 82% (27/33). The concentrated urine from an additional 11 patients with other bacteremias were tested by C polysaccharide and type-specific reagents and were negative. C polysaccharide detection in the concentrated urine of patients may be helpful in the diagnosis of pneumococcal infections.