Immune Bodies In Urinary Infections With Colon Bacilli And Treatment By Inoculation

Abstract

Studies on infections of the urinary tract with especial reference to bacilli of the colon group have been made by a number of observers, notably by Rovsing, Halle, Krogius, Brown, Dudgeon, and Wilson. General conclusions reached by the writers are: first, the colon bacillus is the most common infection of the urinary tract; second, these infections may be acute, or chronic, the latter sometimes lasting for years; third, the most common causes are obstruction to the outflow7 of urine, pressure upon some part of the urinary tract or organs, and invasion of these structures from the intestinal tract, from the exterior through the urethra, or from the blood; fourtl^ it is common to find strains of colon bacilli in these cases differing markedly in their biological reactions; fifth, agglutination is rarely obtained even in low dilutions (Dudgeon) and is of little or no value for diagnosis. Among others, Dudgeon1 has studied cases of this kind with respect to the opsonic content of the serum and the treatment with killed bacteria. He found as a rule a low opsonic index, which by proper inoculation could be raised, and in some cases this rise was accompanied by improvement in the condition of the patient. In some cases, too, the urine improved greatly though this did not always correspond to the clinical improvement. Relapses were liable to occur. He concludes that the results justify the use of the autogenous bacillus.