[Microbiological methods of diagnosing pneumococcal infection in acute and chronic inflammatory lung disease].

The simultaneous microbiological study of sputum and bronchial washings from 440 patients with acute and chronic inflammatory pulmonary diseases has revealed that pneumococci can be isolated most frequently from both these materials or sputum alone. The isolation of pneumococci by the inoculation of the pathological materials or sputum alone. The isolation of pneumococci by the inoculation of the pathological material into solid culture media is practically as effective as the inoculation of white mice with this material, but the former method accelerates the isolation of Str. pneumoniae and allows one to determine the content of these organisms in the initial material. The appearance and the size of pneumococcal colonies depend on the composition of the culture medium, the biological properties and the amount of Str. pneumoniae and other microorganisms in the material under study. The identification of the S-forms of pneumococci is based on their cultural and morphological properties and carried out by one test or by a complex of tests. 4 criteria allowing to determine the etiological importance of pneumococci isolated from patients are proposed.