Acute epiglottitis; a clinical, bacteriological and serological study.
25 patients, 15 children and 10 adults, with the clinical diagnosis of acute epiglottitis were studied. Patients severely ill on admission, 13 children and 1 adult, were immediately treated with tracheotomy and antibiotics; the remaining patients with antibiotics only. Haemophilus influenzae type b was the causative organism in all children and in 3 adults. One adult had a Diplococcus pneumoniae infection. No pathogens were isolated from the 6 remaining patients. Four of the children developed H. influenzae type b meningitis. All patients recovered. Anti-b antibodies were not demonstrable in any initial serum sample while agglutinating anti-b antibodies were found in subsequent samples (indirect hemagglutination). All patients with a type b infection had already initially precipitating anti-O antibodies against their own strain, and in most cases complement-fixing anti-O antibodies (mixed H. influenzae O antigen) with rising titers in subsequent serum samples. A possible connection between the presence of anti-O antibodies initially and the development of the acute epiglottitis is discussed.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004825:Epiglottis / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007827:Laryngitis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D014132:Trachea / Q000382:microbiology
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial