[Pathological anatomy and problems of the pathogenesis of pneumococcal meningoencephalitis in children]

The analysis of morphological, clinical and bacteriological data on 31 deceased children with pneumococcal meningoencephalitis is presented. The lesions observed at early and late stages of the disease are characterized in detail and the tendency of pneumococcal meningoencephalitis to a chronic course in the presence of the viable pathogen is shown. The majority of pneumococcal meningoencephalitides were proved to develop primarily, and in their pathogenesis significant role is played by the lesions of hematoencephalic barrier caused by respiratory viruses. High lethality and frequency of severe residual changes in the children with pneumococcal meningoencephalitis are due to early lesions of choroid plexuses and brain matter. In the experiment on 18 rabbits with their suboccipital challenge with 3 different pneumococcal strains, the influence of the biological properties of the pathogen on the clinical and morphological features of the illness is shown.