[Quantitative cytobacteriological study of sputum in chronic bronchitics (author's transl)]

A quantitative cytobacteriological study of sputum was carried out in 259 chronic bronchitics. In non-purulent sputum (leukocyte count lower than 2,000/mm3), flora identified was salivary in 73% of the cases. In purulent sputum (leukocyte count higher than 5 000/mm3), the most frequently identified predominant bacterial species were Haemophilus influenzae (20%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (10.5%). In the most severely ill patients, admitted to the intensive care unit, Haemophilus influenzae was rarely identified as a predominant bacteria (9.8%), whereas in 26.3% of the cases, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified as the only bacteria present. In the less severely ill chronic bronchitis admitted to the medical department, the most common bacteria was Haemophilus influenzae (34.4%), Streptococci (19%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (8.8%). The leukocyte count in sputum was systematically higher in the patients admitted to the intensive care unit even when the mean bacterial concentration was identical to that observed in the patients in the medical department.