Respiratory infection in an intensive care unit.

A postmortem bacteriological study of Black children in a respiratory intensive care unit showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common opportunistic pathogen and that it usually complicated a viral infection. In a parallel study of non-debilitated patients in general hospital wards Klebsiella aerogenes and Escherichia coli were the most frequently isolated organisms. Counter-immuno-electrophoresis was used for the identification of Pseudomonas-precipitating antibody in serum and tracheal secretions, and also of Pseudomonas antigen in the latter.