[Pneumococcal pneumonia: a report of 100 cases]

This paper reports 100 cases of etiologically proved pneumococcal pneumonia. It is shown that Gram's stain smear and culture of sputum are still useful in the diagnosis of the disease but are easily influenced by antibiotics. Whereas coagglutination, a newly developed procedure in detecting pneumococcal capsular antigens, is relatively independent to antibiotic therapy. Moreover, it is rapid, convenient and sensitive. Both Gram's stain smear and coagglutination may confirm early diagnosis and are valuable in the initial treatment of the disease. If unhospitalized patients with acute pneumonia are checked routinely with these methods and samples are collected before administration of antibiotics, etiological diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia will be confirmed in more cases. The data from 100 cases of pneumococcal pneumonia demonstrates that pneumococcal pneumonia remains the most common type of community-acquired pneumonias in this country. Its clinical manifestations have not changed greatly since 1950s but the age of the afflicted tents to be greater especially in those with underlying diseases. There are two common types of roentgenographic manifestations, i.e., lobar consolidation and bronchopneumonia, the former is still overwhelming in those under sixty and the later is more frequently seen in those over sixty. Penicillin G showed good clinical effects in treating pneumococcal pneumonia and all the 57 strains tested were sensitive in vitro. Therefore, penicillin G is still the drug of first choice in treating pneumococcal pneumonia.