Countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis in the evaluation of childhood infections.

Samples of CSF, serum, and urine from 162 children with a clinical diagnosis of possible bacterial infection were examined by CIE within 1 hr of admission to the hospital. Results obtained were compared to information derived from gram stain and bacterial cultures of these specimens. Thirty-eight of 59 patients with culturally proved bacterial infections had positive CIE determinations at the time of admission. Highest correlation between culture and CIE results was in patients with meningitis due to Hemophilus influenzae type b while poorest correlation was obtained in children with pneumococcal septicemia. PRP within serum or CSF was quantitated on 21 occasions in patients with H. influenzae meningitis. Patients who experienced sequelae of their meningitis had significantly (p less than 0.005-0.025) higher levels of PRP within CSF and serum than those whose recovery was uneventful.