Morris F. Shaffer

THE EFFECT OF ARTIFICIAL FEVER AND SPECIFIC ANTISERUM ON THE ORGANISMS PRESENT IN CASES OF TYPE III PNEUMOCOCCUS MENINGITIS

One of the very serious problems encountered in pediatric practice is that of the treatment of pneumococcal meningitis. The significance of this statement is emphasized by an examination of the records and statistics concerning the cases of meningitis observed over a ten-year period in a hospital such as the Childrens Hospital at Boston. During 1926 to 1936 there occurred 114 cases of meningococcus meningitis with 41 deaths and 73 recoveries, 96 cases of H. influenzae meningitis with 92 deaths and 4 recoveries, and 74 cases of pneumococcus meningitis with 73 deaths and 1 recovery. Of these 284 cases, 26 per cent were attributable to pneumococcus infection, and the mortality in this group was over 98 per cent. An analysis of these pneumococcal infections showed that the distribution according to type was as follows: