Clinical Pediatrics

Five cases of Hemophilus influenzae pneumonia were observed in a 13- month period at Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax, Va. More aggressive diagnostic procedures may be required in order to diagnose this disease with greater frequency. This has become especially important in view of the growing recovery of ampicillin-resistant H. influenzae strains.

Throat cultures from 133 patients with infectious mononucleosis were compared with cultures from 2,881 patients who were seen during the same period because of pharyngitis. Less than 3 per cent of the cultures from each group contained Group A beta hemolytic streptococci. The inflamed pharynx and necrotic tonsils of infectious mononucleosis are seldom subject to bacterial superinfection, either initially or during the course of the illness. There is no indication for routine use of antibiotics when infectious mono nucleosis is diagnosed. Should, however, a throat culture indicate presence of a bacterial pathogen, any appropriate antibiotic except ampicillin may be used without increasing the incidence of skin rash.

The antibiotic sensitivities of 120 strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from both hospitalized patients and outpatients at Children's Memorial Hospital, Oklahoma City were studied. The proportions of strains resistant to the commonly used antibiotics were considerably lower than that found by other workers in earlier years, except for penicillin G. Of the 120 strains, 98 (81.7%) were resistant to penicillin G, 13 (10.8%) to tetracycline, 9 (7.5%) to erythromycin, and 3 (2.5%) to clindamycin. No strains resistant against cephalothin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, or oxacillin were found. Sixteen strains (13.3 %), of which 5 were inpatient strains and 11 were outpatient strains, were found to be resistant to more than one drug. Phage group 1 or type 80/81 staphylococci were not found among multiple resistant strains from hospitalized patients.